When the Snow Falls
by Yih
Summary: COMPLETE! When Rukia came into Byakuya's life, he saw her as an obligation. As time goes by, as Rukia entrenches herself deeper into Byakuya's world, will he finally see her as something more than just a promise made years ago.
1. Prologue

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Prologue**

The first time Byakuya laid eyes on Rukia, it was like seeing a younger version of Hisana and the emotions he thought he had buried since his wife's death a year before flooded forward. It hurt to look at her, to see how strong and vibrant she was and to remember how weak and pale Hisana had been. He had been tempted to turn his back on this whole incident and forget his promise to Hisana, but in the end he adopted Rukia into the Kuchiki family.

It had not been easy, the Kuchiki elders had vehemently protested against the adoption and it was like living through the ordeal of trying to make Hisana his wife again. He had prevailed, though and Rukia was now a Kuchiki. Byakuya paused outside of Rukia's room, which was on the opposite side of the mansion from his own living quarters. He glanced into the barest crack, where the sliding door hadn't been completely closed, and observed Rukia sleeping in a curled up position – just like Hisana.

Although much of Rukia reminded him of Hisana, he could already see that Rukia was as different as she was similar. Rukia had spirit where Hisana was sweet; Rukia was strong and Hisana was shy; Rukia had a backbone where Hisana would bend to the will of others. Perhaps their appearance, their circumstance, even their physical habits might be the same, but Rukia was tougher than Hisana and Byakuya knew that she would adjust to the life of a Kuchiki much better than his late, beloved wife had.

Byakuya slid the door closed and was he had walked outside of the mansion, he shunpo to where his parents, his grandfather, and his ancestors rested in their eternal slumber and he knelt down before them and swore on their graves that he would never break a law again – he promised this was the last time.

-

**A/N: **I hope you like this. I'm not sure how well this will turn out, as this is my firstBleach fanfic, but hopefully you like what you've seen so far. I'll try to update on a fairly regular basis. This will be an AU and won't really follow the Bleach anime/manga. Where would you like to see this go?

Thanks for reading!

Released: 11/4/08


	2. The Shift in the Wind

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter One**  
_The Shift in the Wind_

Rukia still remembered the first time she had returned to the academy as a Kuchiki, how the other students and even the teachers had looked at her differently. She remembered how she had been told by the Headmaster that she would not need to continue on with her classes, that as of now she could graduate and be placed into one of the Gotei 13 as a shinigami. She remembered the look of surprise on his face when she politely declined and told him that her abilities weren't worthy of being a shinigami yet, but that she was confident that one day they would be.

She couldn't tell then if it was admiration in his eyes or if he thought she was foolish for giving up this chance to graduate out of the academy. After all, it wasn't easy. A good minority of the student body would never wear the robes of a shinigami and it wasn't like she was in the advanced class like Renji, where the pass rate was nearly perfect. She had made it, though.

She stood up proudly when her name, "Kuchiki Rukia," was called and she walked to the Headmaster to receive the black robes that marked her now and forever as a full-fledge shinigami. Rukia thought she saw the faintest of smiles on his face; regardless of if it was there or if she had just imagined it, she smiled brightly at him then turned around to the crowd that had gathered to watch the new class of shinigamis. She didn't see her brother, Byakuya, and the pure joy of receiving her black robes was dimmed a bit.

"Can you believe it?" Renji whispered loudly into her ear when she joined the other students that had received their black robes. "We did it!" he exclaimed fiercely, his eyes shining with such pride at their achievement. "Who would have thought the two of us from Rukongai would have made it this far?"

Rukia rolled her eyes at him. "I always had confidence I would make it through, even if you didn't."

"Like I had any doubts! Must I remind you who was in the advanced class?"

Rukia shrugged and retorted, "You only got into that class because you wield a zanpakuto better than I do."

Before Renji could say anything, Momo interrupted and asked innocently, "Are you two arguing again?"

"NO!" Renji vehemently denied and Rukia just grinned.

"It's too easy," Rukia said, laughing. "I know just how to provoke him."

"You two," Izuru said, shaking his head, "are impossible. I can't believe you two could bicker on this day. If there's anything to talk about, it's which squad we'll be assigned to."

"I hope it's squad 5!" Momo exclaimed. "Wouldn't that be amazing? Aizen-taichou is simply the best. Do you remember that time when he saved us from the Hollows?"

Even Rukia knew about the incident from start to finish thanks to Momo's idolization of Aizen. Rukia understood much better than the boys why Momo would feel that way. How could she not? When she herself deeply admired her brother, Byakuya? Rukia glanced at the crowd again, searching it diligently, but she couldn't find him at all.

"When do we find out about our squad assignments?" Renji asked. "I heard that they sent messengers to notify us. I wonder how long that takes…"

"Supposedly they're changing that this year, since the old method requires too much time and too much manpower," Izuru responded. "I heard that they're posting a list somewhere with our names and assignments."

Rukia wondered where she would end up, a part of her wanted to be placed in Squad 6 with Byakuya, just so that he would be forced to acknowledge her. For all her admiration, Byakuya didn't seem to care at all about her. In the beginning, when she found out she was being adopted into the Kuchiki family, she wasn't in awe of the name – she was in awe of finally being part of a real family.

She didn't have much to complain about. Byakuya was always unfailingly courteous with her, a true gentleman, but it wasn't the closeness that she thought she would get. It was anything but that. Then again, she wasn't really a part of his family. She was adopted into the Kuchiki family for some reason that was never made clear. All she knew from the elders was that her duty to the family was uphold the Kuchiki honor.

In time the elders had warmed up to her presence, Rukia would even daresay that they had come to accept her. It was far from obvious acceptance, which she didn't think she would ever get, but it was enough to her that they no longer criticize her impetuous actions or lectured about her improper behavior. If she could gain their approval, why couldn't she get Byakuya's?

It never made any sense to her why he had fought against his family to adopt her when he took no interest in her at all. For all the years she had lived with him at the Kuchiki mansion, for all that she might call him brother in her mind – they were no better than mere acquaintances.

"Hey Rukia!" Renji shouted as he grabbed her hand. "They've posted the results on the board outside of the academy, remember? That's where we found out we got accepted into the Shinigami Academy."

Rukia noticed now that Izuru and Momo were running toward the board that was located outside of the main building, just inside the front entrance. It wasn't only them, though. Every other new shinigami was also hightailing it over. As Renji dragged her along, she watched the others running, feeling herself also doing the same, yet it felt so surreal. Like she wasn't really here and she wasn't doing what she knew she was doing.

Everything was going to change again.

"I'm in Squad 5!" Momo cried out with such exuberance. "And so are Izuru and Renji! Isn't that great? I can't believe that three of us are in the same squad." Momo's excitement lessened when she noticed Rukia on her tiptoes trying to look over someone's shoulder to find out which her squad. "I didn't see your name in any of the previous squads. You must be in one the other ones."

Rukia nodded absently, her attention completely on trying to find her name on the lists. She could only see the squads that were posted at the top, which happened to be the uneven squad numbers. It didn't help the list she most wanted to see, Squad 6's, was blocked by some new shinigami she didn't recognize. She already knew she was in Squad 7 or 9, and she couldn't possibly be in Squad 11 with her inferior zanpakuto skills. She hadn't bothered checking further down yet, so intent on seeing if she was part of Squad 6.

"Hey—" Renji began before Rukia jabbed him quickly in the side with her elbow.

She knew he was going to do something rude to tell the guy in front of them to get out of her way. It wasn't that guy's fault that he'd gotten there first. As it was, he moved on down and she now had a perfect view of the Squad 6 list.

Her eyes scanned the list, searching for her name, coming to the end of it without seeing it. Even though she knew it was fruitless, she still went to the beginning of the list and looked through the entire thing again, just to double check. Her name was not on the Squad 6 list.

"Rukia!" Momo called and Rukia snapped her face in the direction of Momo's voice. "You're with Ukitake-taichou!"

Rukia remembered students gossiping about how the Taichou of Squad 13 was sickly and rarely did any of his duties. She heard that the Fukutaichou pretty much covered for Ukitake. She couldn't remember his name, but knew that he also came from a noble family. Rukia didn't see anything wrong with being part of Squad 13; she had no prejudice against them for having a sickly taichou – but she was disappointed all the same. Mainly because she had hoped she could train under Byakuya and show him that she wasn't the girl from Rukongai anymore. She was a competent shinigami and he had nothing to be ashamed of.

So much for that dream of finally being able to garner his approval, or even his affection…

Rukia squared her shoulders and put on the brightest smile on her face that she could muster. "You might have Aizen-taichou," she told Renji, "but _I _have Ukitake-taichou, do you know who he trained under?"

Renji shrugged as if he didn't really care, he was already touching his zanpakuto and Rukia knew he was already anticipating training under Aizen. "No."

"_My taichou_ was the student of the Yamamoto-sou-taichou."

"So?"

Rukia shot him a scathing glare. "So that means when your taichou was a mere baby, mine was already a taichou!"

"Congratulations," Momo said with a sweet smile, trying to diffuse the tension that was rising between Renji and Rukia again, "I've heard Ukitake-taichou is a very honorable. I'm sure you'll do great with him."

"I suppose it's good they aren't going to the save squad," Izuru remarked. "They'd be fighting all the time."

"And Rukia would be winning," Momo added.

Rukia laughed, not even having to try to make it sound natural, it came easily as Renji started arguing at what Momo had said. Renji never did like being told that he wasn't the strongest, the best of them all. That was just Renji for you. She was going to miss them, hanging out with these three when they weren't in their different classes. They had always treated her as Rukia, not as a Kuchiki. It was just what she needed.

Now she was being asked to separate from them, going on her own path, to find what the future holds.

-

**A/N: **Hopefully, I represented the characters somewhat accurately, if not I hope you like it all the same! I know the general direction I'm going, but if there's something you'd like to see or if you have any suggestions, just let me know. Any questions too, I'll be happy to help. This was a pretty quick update, which I'm sure you'll appreciate. The next one should be pretty fast too. Thanks for all the reviews, they're great!

Released: 11/06/08


	3. To Shelter From the Storm

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Two**  
_To Shelter From the Storm_

It was late in the night and Byakuya was still in his office, doing tedious and necessary paperwork. He had sent his Fukutaichou home early, saying that there wasn't much left. He had lied, there was a lot to do, but there was no reason to make the poor woman stay when she had a husband and children waiting for her.

Byakuya had just finished inking his name onto a document that he would need to send to Yamamoto-sou-taichou tomorrow morning when he heard soft knocking on the door. He turned and saw the shadow of a silhouette.

"Who's there?" he called.

"It's me," Jushiro answered. "You asked if I could come to see you sometime. I felt now would be a good time, if it's a good one for you as well."

Not exactly, but Byakuya might as well get this business out of the way, the sooner the better. "Come in."

Jushiro slid the door open and stepped in before sliding the door close. "I see you're still working."

"Just some paperwork." Byakuya gestured for him to take a seat on a mat.

"Ah," Jushiro remarked, sinking to the floor gracefully. "What is it that you wished to speak to me about?"

"It's about… my sister."

"Kuchiki Rukia," Jushiro murmured, "I saw that she was assigned to my squad this morning. I've heard she excels at kido."

Byakuya shrugged at the compliment to Rukia. He knew everything about everything that Rukia did. He knew that she was close friends with Abarai Renji, Kira Izuru, and Hinamori Momo – from what he had heard, all were very talented. Unfortunately, Rukia was not as skillful with a zanpakuto as her friends were. Still he was proud of her for learning to be competent with her zanpakuto and to build on her strength in kido.

For some reason though, he had always found it hard to actually talk to her. They often would sit at the dinner table and eat their meal, yet never say a word more than the cursory polite chitchat that was a given. It wasn't that he didn't want to conserve with her, he just didn't know where to begin. So he said nothing when there were many questions that he would wish to ask her.

"What about her?" Jushiro asked.

"I understand you are a fair taichou."

"I try to be, to the best of my abilities."

"Unfortunately, I'm asking you to disregard that quality. I'm asking you to make Rukia ineligible for a seated position. I can't ask you not to allow her to take the test, but I can ask you to judge her harshly enough to keep her from a seated position. Will you do this for me?"

"May I ask why?"

"Consider if you had a sister and you wished for nothing more than to protect her from harm. Now do you understand why I'm asking you this favor?"

"I'm surprised you'd come to me for it." They both knew Byakuya could push papers behind his back and make Rukia ineligible for a seated position through other means.

"I figured you'd be surprised if your recommendation for Rukia becoming a seated officer was vetoed and start asking questions. I judged it best to tell you upfront."

Jushiro nodded, not bothering to deny what Byakuya had said. "Not all seated officers are assigned dangerous missions."

"Even the so-called easy missions are much less safe for a seated officer than an unseated one, considering the seated officer is the leader and is responsible for the shinigamis under him."

"I can see your concern. Even on the easy missions, it's impossible to guarantee anyone's safety."

"Will you make her ineligible for an officer seat?"

"For the time being," Jushiro stated. "I never do think it's wise to let a new shinigami rise quickly through the ranks. It makes them too cocky and such arrogance has led to the demise of more than a few highly talented shinigamis. I won't promise you that I will always make her ineligible, but I can promise that her progression will be slower than most. She won't be promoted until she's too qualified for the position."

Byakuya said nothing to what Jushiro had said. He was getting what he wanted, for now and when the time came that Jushiro thought Rukia was ready for a seated position, well then Byakuya would just have to block Rukia from such a dangerous possibility.

"Thank you for your understanding. I'm sorry that you had to come here so late, but I appreciate you taking the time. If you will excuse me, I still have some papers I must tend to before the night is over."

Jushiro inclined his head and rose to his feet. "Byakuya," he said, waiting until Byakuya's gaze was focused on him, "you can only hold her back for so long, I hope you know that."

Byakuya watched Jushiro leave, staring at the closed door for several minutes, thinking about everything. Life was very much what it had always been before Rukia had entered his life. One thing was different, he had one more thing to worry about – Rukia. Another obligation should have been another annoyance, another tiring task, but it wasn't. He didn't like worrying about her safety, but he rather enjoyed thinking about her when he wasn't worried.

Rukia was the one bright light in his otherwise dark world.

-

**A/N: **I'm getting a lot of hits and that's great! However, if you're reading if you wouldn't mind reviewing to let me know if you like it, that's great because if no one's interested, I'll probably just write this story in my head and save myself some time. I'm rather busy, being a med student and all . Thanks for reading once again!

Released: 11/09/08


	4. Under the Hand of Guidance

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Three**  
_Under the Hand of Guidance_

Jushiro wasn't at all surprised when Kaien took Rukia under his wing. Kaien always did have a thing for the underdog, not that Rukia was by any means lacking the necessary skills of a shinigami. There was just something about Rukia that made you want to protect her. How could Kaien help it when Byakuya had fallen under Rukia's spell?

"Those two," Miyako said with affection, watching them with Jushiro from the balcony of his office on the second floor. Kaien was teaching Rukia how to wield her zanpakuto better. "If I didn't know Rukia was his sister, I would have thought they were siblings."

"Although Rukia is not much like Kukaku at all," Jushiro remarked.

"I can't believe she's related to Kuchiki-taichou."

Jushiro chuckled a little. "You didn't know?"

Miyako turned to her taichou, confused. "Know what?"

"She's not related to Byakuya. Rukia was adopted into the Kuchiki family for some reason only known to him."

"Interesting," Miyako said, turning her attention back to watching Rukia fend off her husband's attacks. "Rukia's not quite as talented with zanjutsu as she is with kido, eh?"

Jushiro looked down at the courtyard to see Rukia fall to her knees, yet managing to block Kaien's attack – something a year or two ago, she wouldn't have been able to do. "She is improving and her kido is quite excellent."

"Superior to mine, I know," Miyako remarked with a kind smile. "I wonder why she didn't make a seated position. She's talented enough I know."

Jushiro wisely said nothing about that, changing the topic instead to something much safer. "I have an assignment for you, something Kaien might not like too much."

"He never likes it when I go on any assignment, but he always lets me go," Miyako responded cheerfully. "So what's this assignment about?"

"I would like you to acquire some information on this Hollow that's been dwelling in a nearby cave. It's been causing a bit of local disruption. I don't want you to engage it, just observe it and come back. Once more is known, then I'll decide how to proceed."

Miyako nodded. "When should I leave?"

"Tomorrow will be fine. It gives you plenty of time to inform Kaien of your new mission."

"Thank you. Will you excuse me? I must start my preparations."

"Of course," Jushiro said and shooed her away with his hands in good humor.

He watched her leave, thinking about what he would do once he gathered information about the Hollow. Jushiro decided if it were a low level Hollow, he would send Rukia on her first solo mission to terminate the Hollow. Kaien would follow to watch and assist if needed, but it would be Rukia's chance to prove herself as a shinigami.

Jushiro thought she was ready. Miyako had noted that her zanjutsu was not as good as her kido, but then Rukia's kido skills were very, very good. Of course, she couldn't compare to the Kido Corps – however, even with her inferior zanjutsu, they couldn't compare to her in that either. If Rukia continued to hone her skills with a zanpakuto, Jushiro wouldn't be able to keep her from a seated position too much longer.

-

"Better, you just need to be faster," Kaien said, pushing her back with his zanpakuto.

Rukia held her ground for a bit before her arms faltered against Kaien's superior strength. She leapt to the side and quickly moved behind him to attack him from the rear.

"You will never be as physically strong as a shinigami greater than you in size, but you can compensate with your speed," Kaien continued, whirling around to counter her attack. "You have light grace with quick feet. You should get your brother to teach you his shunpo. He is excellent at it and you would do well to learn from the best."

Rukia still didn't know how Byakuya felt for her, she had decided not to let it bother her overmuch as it used to in the past. Instead she focused her energies on becoming the best shinigami she could be and now five years later, she felt like a real shinigami. Unfortunately, she had yet to go on a solo mission, but she knew Ukitake-taichou was fair and that when she was ready she would get her assignment.

"If you could learn his senka," Kaien mused, "now that would be something."

Other than small, polite conversation, Rukia couldn't remember the last time she had had a meaningful talk with her brother. Had they ever really talked? Certainly nothing like what she and Kaien talked about. She barely knew Byakuya. The first day she had met Kaien, she knew more about him than she had ever known about her brother.

"What are you daydreaming about?" Kaien teased, slapping her on the shoulder in good nature. "Abarai?"

Rukia glared at her fukutaichou and retorted, "Renji and I are _just_ friends."

"That's what Miyako said to Sentaro and Kiyone and look where we ended up."

"I assure you Renji has no interest in me in that way."

At one point, Rukia might have been interested in forming a relationship with Renji, but that was before being adopted into the Kuchiki family. She knew she had obligations to her adopted family and that meant marrying well. For all that Renji was a talented, young shinigami, he still came from the worst district of Rukongai and that was unacceptable to the Kuchiki family.

"But if he did?" Kaien queried.

"If he did, that hardly means that I'm interested."

"If you say so."

"Not only do I say so, I insist," Rukia said firmly. She held up her zanpakuto, feeling its light beauty. Hopefully soon with Kaien's guidance she would learn its name and its true power. "Enough talk, let's fight."

-

Rukia was exhausted by the time she had finished practicing her zanjutsu with Kaien. She almost decided that she should just stay in the barracks for the night instead of heading back to the Kuchiki mansion. It wasn't like anyone would notice if she didn't come home. Byakuya was probably already in bed, sleeping.

The only problem was the barracks weren't exactly the most comfortable place to sleep, made even less appealing compared to her room at home. It would be nice to take a bath before she went to sleep too, to get rid of the sweat and grime on her. The food was also better. It was no wonder that shinigamis only stayed at their barracks if absolutely necessary.

She ran home as quickly as she could, which was fast but not as fast as shunpo. She really ought to learn that art since it would only help her zanjutsu. Rukia didn't know how to ask Byakuya to help her. She didn't even know if she could ask him for something like that. Wouldn't he just tell her that she ought to ask her commanding officer?

Lost in thought, Rukia found herself in front of the Kuchiki residence before she even realized it. She went around to enter from the back, which was closer to her room anyways, passing through the beautiful courtyard with its small pond of goldfish. She wasn't looking where she was going and she bumped into something warm and solid. Rukia quickly looked up and found herself staring into the dark grey of her brother's eyes.

"Nii-sama," she said. "Excuse me."

"It's late," Byakuya stated, steadying her by placing his hand on her shoulder. "Have you just returned from your duties at Squad 13?"

"I was training with Shiba-fukutaichou," Rukia explained. "We were working on my zanjutsu."

"I see," he said, lifting his eyes away from her and gazing above her head at the forest that surrounded their home. "Zanjutsu is still your weakness, isn't it?"

Rukia nodded, feeling a flush of embarrassment on her face.

"Have you been sent on any missions yet?" he asked.

"I've been sent on group missions with a high seated officer," she responded and felt her face grow even warmer. Most other shinigamis had already been on their first solo mission. She was a bit behind the rest. "I hope to be sent on my own mission soon, though."

Byakuya nodded. Rukia expected him to make an exit, but when he didn't move – she found herself standing with him admiring the natural beauty surrounding them. She snuck a gaze at her brother, sighing softly at his perfectly handsome face. She wished they could be like this more, in each other's company, even if it was silent companionship.

"It's late," he remarked. "We should be sleeping."

Rukia didn't know what possessed her, but somehow she found the courage to say, "Nii-sama?"

Byakuya turned back and she could see the profile of his face. "Yes?"

"Could you teach me shunpo? Shiba-fukutaichou told me yours was one of the best and that if I could learn senka that would greatly help my zanjutsu. He said that I will never have the strength of a shinigami that's bigger than me, but at least I could use my speed to compensate…" Rukia's hands covered her mouth as she couldn't believe she had spoken so much and so informally to Byakuya. She stared up at him in horror.

"If you wish it," Byakuya said softly, "then meet me in the forest at dusk tomorrow."

"Thank you!" Rukia exclaimed, not able to hide her excitement or her elation. "I will try my very best!"

"See that you do," he said. "Good night."

"Good night," she echoed as she watched him walk away like a dream, except it wasn't.

This was real and it was better than any dream.

-

**A/N:** Thanks for all the reviews, keep it up it inspires me to write more and faster! Hope you like this chapter . Just a quick note, sometimes the timeline will speed up and sometimes it will slow down. It's at a slow down point right now, but it'll speed up again at some point.

Released: 11/11/08


	5. When the Light Shines

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Four**  
_When the Light Shines_

Byakuya didn't know what had possessed him to actually agree to teach Rukia the art of shunpo and perhaps, senka if she could master the basic skill. While he did care a lot for Rukia, which extended to him being extremely overprotective of her, he had never shown that to her. He never voluntarily spent time with her either.

It wasn't because he disliked her. No, the problem was that he liked her too much. As much as Rukia looked like Hisana, when he saw Rukia now – he saw Rukia, not her sister. Rukia had slowly wormed her way into his heart, whereas Hisana had been like a sudden storm. It wasn't Rukia's fault he had been slow to warm up to her. It was his fault he had avoided her as much as possible. Still he had found himself caring far more than he should be.

Spending more time with her wasn't going to help either. It would probably only make things worst, he thought. Too bad he had already promised her that he would meet her here today at dusk. Maybe she would forget, too busy honing her skills with Shiba Kaien to remember to meet him. Maybe she wouldn't come and he wouldn't find himself drawn even more to her.

But, of course, she would come. Byakuya could see her slim, billowing robes in the dim light of the moon. She was shorter than Hisana, he had noticed this just yesterday when they had been standing side-by-side, but her reiatsu – quite powerful – made her seem larger, bigger than Hisana had ever been.

"Good evening, Nii-sama," Rukia greeted, bowing politely. "I hope you haven't waited too long for me."

"Only a little," he replied, even though he had been here an hour prior to her arrival.

He liked to come to this part of the forest, to stand and mediate, to let nature soothe his worries and doubts away. It was here that he had learned shunpo from Yoruichi and here where he had always lost to her when they played tag. He would never equal her and it was unlikely Rukia would be his equal, but that didn't mean he couldn't pass on the knowledge or the skill. Maybe this might save her life one day.

"I have learned nothing of shunpo," Rukia confessed. "Shiba-fukutaichou thought it best when I told him you would teach me that it was best that I didn't learn any bad habits."

"That was wise of him." Byakuya didn't much like Shiba, mainly because he was too brash and loud for his tastes. "I will show you first what you will learn." Byakuya shunpo from in front of Rukia to behind her.

"With shunpo," he began, smiling faintly when he saw her eyes widen with surprise, "your body _and _mind must be quick. Most shinigamis believe that it is all in the body, but it is also here." He tapped his temple. "You must think fast to get somewhere fast. You must gather your reiatsu and use it to push you forward. Instead of using your reiatsu to push others away from you or to bind or attack someone, you are using it on yourself. That's the difference and that difference is what separates shinigamis who can use shunpo and those who can't."

Rukia hadn't even seen where Byakuya had gone until she heard his voice behind her. How was she ever to learn shunpo if she couldn't even see him move? "I don't even know where to begin. I'm not even sure if my reiatsu is strong enough to learn shunpo."

"Strength doesn't matter," Byakuya lied, keeping his face composed without a trace of emotion. The power of one's reiatsu was the greatest predictor if one could learn shunpo or not. Rukia had enough raw power, but he didn't want her to know how strong she was. "All you need is control over your reiatsu."

"I understand what you're saying, but I have no idea how to do it," Rukia said.

Byakuya had always been a swift learner and teaching was hardly one of his strong points; however, Rukia was quite adept at kido and kido required consummate control over reiatsu.

"Do you remember when you first learned kido spells?"

"Of course."

"Using shunpo is like using a spell on your body, except no incantation is needed. You just think about moving fast and push your reiatsu through your body to allow it to move as fast as you're thinking. Does that make more sense?"

"It does, but understanding something doesn't mean you can always do it," Rukia said. "But I'll give it my best."

She closed her eyes to concentrate and Byakuya watched her, thinking of how lovely and delicate she looked in the forest. The moon was now high up in the sky, glowing softly down on them, reflecting lightly off Rukia's shiny black hair. Her violet eyes popped up and suddenly she was moving fast, not as fast as shunpo should be, but much more swiftly than even the fastest shinigami could run at full speed.

The best shunpo should be nearly impossible for another person to see where you were going. Rukia was nowhere near that, but it was a very commendable first try.

"How was that?" she asked, her big violet eyes staring up at him. Her eyes were so beautiful.

Byakuya looked away from her in disgust at himself. He couldn't believe he had allowed himself to think about Rukia in that way. She was his _sister_ and moreover, she was Hisana's sister. He couldn't think of her that way. It was wrong.

"Nii-sama?"

Byakuya blinked and turned back to Rukia. "It was sufficient for now. You will need more practice for you to actually perform shunpo the way it is meant."

"I will practice very hard," she promised.

"See that you do," Byakuya murmured before he shunpo back to the safety of their home, to his room, where he could forget of how close he came to thinking for Rukia as someone he could fall in love with.

It was unthinkable, to fall in love again, especially with her.

-

**A/N: **Now you can finally see Byakuya's interest in Rukia. But what about Rukia's interest in Byakuya? Let me know what you think and please keep reviewing! It really inspires me! Thanks again and I hope you enjoyed the chapter .

Released on: 11/13/08


	6. Beginning of a Journey

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Five**  
_Beginning of a Journey_

Every night for several weeks, Rukia had practiced shunpo until she was exhausted, until it was all she could do to make it to her bed at night. It made it difficult to do her best at practicing zanjutsu with Kaien when she was tired all the time, but it was worth it when she met weekly with Byakuya to show him her progress. Just to see his slight nod of approval made her so incredibly happy.

"You need to get more rest," Kaien said, putting his zanpakuto away. "You're going to wear yourself out at the rate you're going."

"But there's just so much to learn," Rukia said, her eyes still shining in her eagerness to learn despite her exhaustion.

"And you have many years to learn it," Kaien stated. "Ukitake-taichou asked me to tell you to meet him after our evening practice."

"What for?" Rukia asked, curiosity in her voice.

While the Squad 13 Taichou was friendly to his subordinate, he was often far too sick to interact with them a lot. She actually got to see and talk to Ukitake-taichou far more than other unseated shinigamis, mainly because she was so close to Kaien and Miyako.

"Oh, I have no idea," Kaien responded with a gleam in his eyes.

"I'm sure you don't know," Rukia muttered softly before putting on a bright smile that lit up her tired face. "Thanks again, like always."

"It's not a problem," he said, returning her smile. "You're a good student and I'm sure that soon Ukitake-taichou will have to place you among the seated officers. You're too talented not to be."

Rukia blushed a little and waved goodbye to him. "Have a good night!"

Kaien wished her the same and started heading toward his office where Miyako was patiently waiting for him after returning from her mission. Rukia thought it was rather strange that the Taichou's office was in the opposite part of the building, but it did give her some alone time to gather her thoughts.

She wondered why Ukitake would want to see her. She didn't think it had anything to do with her performance. And just having a chat with him would be kind of strange as well, especially when she wasn't one of the higher seated officers. Rukia took a breath as she stood outside of his office and then softly rapped her hand against the wooden frame.

"Who's there?" Ukitake asked.

"It's Rukia."

"Come in then," he said and Rukia slid the door open and stepped into his office. "Good evening," he greeted her with a kind smile. "Please take a seat."

She knelt on her knees onto the floor and smoothed out her black robes so they looked presentable around her. "Shiba-fukutaichou said you wanted to talk to me?"

"That is correct," he confirmed. "As you know Miyako has returned from her recent mission."

Rukia nodded.

"There is a low level Hollow in the forest, residing in a cave, and he has been creating quite the disturbance recently. Miyako thinks that this Hollow is well within your reach to eliminate and I believe she is correct from her report, so I'm assigning you to your first solo mission."

She looked her Taichou in the eye and asked, "When do I leave?"

"Tomorrow morning," Ukitake replied. "Get a good night's sleep. You'll need it with how hard you've been training."

"Should I report to you tomorrow?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "Rest well."

"I will." Rukia rose to her feet and bowed politely to her Taichou before heading out.

As she walked home, since she wisely decided it wasn't a good idea to wear herself out practicing her shunpo on the way back as she usually did. She wondered how difficult it would be to defeat a Hollow on her own. It wasn't that she didn't think she was capable, she just knew it was wise not to underestimate an enemy, any enemy.

So lost in her own thoughts, she didn't realize she had arrived home and that Byakuya was waiting for her until he said, "You seem lost in your own world."

"Nii-sama!" Rukia exclaimed.

"I finished my work early tonight if you would like to practice your shunpo," he remarked, gazing out to the forest where she practiced when he had the time to watch.

She knew she ought to say no and get ready for bed so that she could get a good night's rest, but Byakuya had been extraordinarily busy of late and she had only been able to show him her recent progress a fortnight ago. Rukia really wanted to show him how far she'd come so she nodded and followed him to the forest.

-

The next morning when she woke up, she didn't feel like getting out of bed, but of all days to want to stay in bed – it couldn't be today. Rukia forced herself to get up and automatically put on her robes and slid her zanpakuto around her waist. She glanced at herself in the mirror and splashed cold water on her face to wake herself up. She didn't look as bright and energetic as she usually did, but she didn't look as tired as she had last night. Unfortunately, she didn't feel as good as she looked.

Rukia sighed and brushed her hair back and went down to the main dining room where she and Byakuya ate their breakfast each morning. She smiled when she saw him and took her seat across from him. They talked more now, although they didn't speak nearly as much as she did with others. Byakuya was simply a much more private person.

"Good morning," he said, returning her smile.

"Hello," Rukai said, sinking onto her mat and moving to pour Byakuya his tea. "I forgot to tell you last night, but I will be going on my first assigned mission."

Byakuya was about to take a sip of his tea, paused instead and set the cup down on the table. "What?"

"It's my first solo mission," Rukia said, obliviously to the tightening expression on his face. "Ukitake-taichou thinks I'm finally ready. I hope I'll do well." She glanced down at her zanpakuto. "I've gotten much better at wielding it, but I still can't quite perform a shikai yet."

"I see," Byakuya said, picking up his cup and slowly drinking his tea.

There was something about his tone that made Rukia look up and while he didn't really have much of an expression on his face, she knew that he didn't want to converse anymore further for the moment. Instead they ate the breakfast the maids brought out in complete silent, like in the beginning when she had first been adopted. It had been awkward then and it was awkward now.

Rukia didn't know what she could to break it, so she just ate as fast as she could without breaking the proper convention and then rose from her seat and bowed to her brother. "I shall be leaving now, Nii-sama."

Byakuya didn't look up. "Very well."

"I don't know how long the mission will take, but I don't think it'll be more than a day." When Byakuya didn't say anything, Rukia sighed softy and murmured, "Have a good day."

She walked swiftly out of the Kuchiki mansion and then sped on her way to Squad 13, thinking all along the way about her brother's abrupt change in mood when she had mentioned she'd been assigned her first mission. She hadn't expected the coldness and certainly hadn't expected him to give her any sort of praise, but she'd expected more than the chilly silence.

Before she knew it, Rukia had arrived at the Squad 13 headquarters and she made her way over to Ukitake's office and he quickly gave her the assignment and wished her good luck. If only Byakuya could be as kind as her Taichou, then her heart would be so light with sheer happiness.

"You don't look at all thrilled to be going on your first mission," Kaien remarked loudly.

Rukia glanced up at Kaien's bright, energetic face and felt some of the heaviness in her heart disappearing. "Just thinking."

"As long as you're thinking about how to get rid of that Hollow real quick and come back so I don't have to be driven insane by Kiyone and Sentaro, that's okay by my book," he said with a grin. "Once we get a few missions under your belt and you master your shikai release, I'm sure you'll get promoted to a seated position."

Rukia smiled back and nodded. "I hope I do well."

"I know you'll do well," he told her confidently. "What you need is to believe in yourself as much as the rest of us do. Don't let anyone bring you down. You work hard and that's going to pay off. In the long run, it isn't about how much talent you have, not that you don't have a lot of talent, but it's really about how hard you work. That's the best predictor of how far you'll go."

"Thank you," Rukia said, her violet eyes shining. "I should be going now."

"Yes," Kaien agreed, "so you can come back to save me as soon as possible."

Rukia laughed and Kaien joined in with her. It felt good to laugh after the horrible morning breakfast with Byakuya. She had no idea what she had done to offend her brother, but she hoped when she had successfully returned from her first mission she could figure out what she could do to make it better. She much preferred to have Byakuya smile faintly then to see no expression on his face.

Rukia waved to Kaien and then took off on her first _solo_ mission where at last she could prove herself to be a real shinigami.

-

**A/N: **This turned out to be a longer chapter than I expected, so I broke it up into two chapters so that you wouldn't have to wait 5 or 6 days for the next release. I hope you like this chapter and please keep reviewing! It makes it so much easier for me to write with your encouragement!

Released on: 11/16/08


	7. Close to the Edge

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Six**  
_Close to the Edge_

Ever since this morning when Rukia had told him she would be going on her first mission, Byakuya had been agitated. A mere five years of group missions with a seated officer was hardly enough experience for a solo mission. Although Byakuya had been able to convince Jushiro to block Rukia from seated eligibility, it was clear that Jushiro was not that conservative of a taichou. Byakuya would personally never assign a shinigami that didn't have at least ten years of experience on group missions with an upper seated officer. It was simply too risky.

Which was why, Byakuya thought darkly, that he was standing outside of Jushiro's office after a long day of paperwork when all he really wanted to do was go home and rest. He knocked on the door rather loudly and before Jushiro could even invite him in, Byakuya slid the door open.

"Byakuya-sama!" Jushiro exclaimed. "What do I owe the pleasure?"

"Ukitake," Byakuya said coldly, "why did you assign Rukia a mission?"

Jushiro blinked innocently. "Because she's ready."

"She can hardly be ready. She's only been with you for five years."

"Rukia-san works very hard with Kaien and has improved drastically in the five years she has been in Squad 13. As it is, the only reason she's not yet a seated officer is because of your request," Jushiro stated. "I wouldn't worry about her safety. What you need to think about is if you'll allow me to promote her to the position she deserves."

"Regardless, I still don't think she has enough experience and she has yet to master her shikai release."

"3rd Seat Shiba reported that the Hollow was low level, easily handled by a competent unseated shinigami, much less a shinigami of Rukia's caliber. And other less qualified shinigamis have already been assigned their own missions. It's time for Rukia to have the chance as well. I understand your concern, you do not think I'm so cold that I don't worry about my subordinates?"

Byakuya knew Jushiro usually had sound judgment, but even with Rukia's talent she didn't have the experience necessary to battle a Hollow – low level or not. "I hope your confidence is not misplaced," he stated before turning around heading back out the way he'd come.

"And I hope that you learn to trust in Rukia and her abilities," Jushiro said to the now empty room.

-

She was here and she could feel the faint reiatsu. It was just as Jushiro had briefed her, that this was a low level Hollow that she should easily handle. Rukia quietly moved closer to the very same cave Miyako had pinpointed the Hollow's location.

"What do we have here?" the Hollow said.

It was horrible looking with wide orange eyes on his white mask with pink tentacles coming from the back of his head connected to a green torso with many limbs. Rukia withdrew her zanpakuto and ran from the Hollow, stunned when he threw her back with an easy fling of his tentacle. She barely managed to fend off another tentacle that came at her. She jumped back a good distance and held up her zanpakuto in a defensive stance.

"A tasty little shinigami, what good luck I have. You're the second one tonight."

Rukia focused on the Hollow, realizing suddenly that its reiatsu was not as small as when she had first appeared near the vicinity of the cave. It was a lot stronger and this Hollow couldn't be a low level one. Miyako had been deceived. She would have to be on her guard, Rukia decided, and she would need to use every skill Kaien had taught her.

Rukia leapt out of the way when the tentacles came at her and slashed downwards with her blade, slicing into the Hollow's flesh, drawing blood, but unfortunately not able to move away fast enough from being hit squarely in the abdomen by one his limbs. Rukia doubled over in pain and when another limb hit her in the back, she fell to the ground, holding up her zanpakuto to brace herself against the Hollow's attacks.

"You're not much stronger than the other shinigami, but you smell so much tastier," the Hollow declared. "What a treat."

Rukia parried the Hollow's tentacles away and managed to get to her feet as she wondered frantically what she should do, there was no way she could defeat a Hollow of this level. Even on group missions, they had never come across a Hollow this strong. She wasn't good enough, but she wasn't going to die here. She concentrated and used shunpo to move behind the Hollow and wound it twice from behind before he could even react.

"Small and quick," the Hollow muttered. "No matter, you'll die _right now._"

The Hollow shot its pink tentacles at Rukia and it was all she could do to shunpo out of the way. She had no idea what he had intended to do, but she knew that she couldn't defeat this Hollow. No matter, she thought fiercely, gripping her zanpakuto tightly. She was a proud member of Squad 13 and she would not go down without a fight. Kaien would be proud.

Rukia shifted her zanpakuto to her left hand as the Hollow charged at her, pointing her right hand at him and shouted, "Hado yon byakurai!"

Pure and powerful white lightening shot out of Rukia's finger and sped toward the Hollow, but it only grazed his shoulder as he effectively dodged the hado #4. Rukia braced her zanpakuto with both of her hands, not having much reiatsu left after expending most of it on that particular hado spell.

She was going to die here, she thought with dismay, and she was never going to see her friends _or_ Byakuya again. Her heart felt heavy, but now was not the time to get caught up in such emotions. Instead she lifted her zanpakuto for her last defense and surprisingly felt no retaliation from the Hollow.

"Hey," Kaien said to Rukia's shocked face as he sliced off several of the tentacles that would have bore down on her. "Seems like Miyako was mistaken. I'll have to tease her about that later."

"Kaien-dono!" Rukia exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving my subordinate," he responded easily as he thrust his zanpakuto at the Hollow.

However, the Hollow jumped out of the way and his ugly face twisted into a sneer. "Two vs. one. Cowards!" he exclaimed before he turned and ran away.

"Well," Kaien shouted after him, "we're not the ones running away!"

Rukia and Kaien watched the Hollow disappear at a rather spectacular speed. Rukia was sure though that if Kaien had wanted to give chase, the Hollow wouldn't have had a chance. She let out a sigh of relief and fell to her knees. She was exhausted and lucky that she had only suffered minor, superficial wounds.

"Are you all right?" he asked as he knelt down beside her.

"Thanks to you," Rukia said softly, not able to look her Fukutaichou in the eye after not only failing her mission, but also needing to be rescued.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of," Kaien remarked. "You wore him down for me, otherwise, who knows how I might have fared?"

Rukia looked up at him with suspicious eyes and Kaien held out his hand. "Come on, let's get you back to the barracks and get you healed up. You wouldn't want _your brother_ to see you like this, would you?"

Sometimes it was a pity that Kaien knew her so well, Rukia thought sourly, he knew exactly how to manipulate her to get what he wanted. For all his brash honesty, he could be a sneaky bastard.

"Can't get up?" Kaien asked. "Want me to carry you?"

"No!" Rukia shouted, grabbing his hand and getting up on her own accord. "I'm perfectly capable."

"I know you are," Kaien told her. "I'm glad you know it as well."

-

**A/N: **I hope you don't mind that I've played a little with the Bleach storyline/timeline, but I'll probably keep doing this. Certain things are going to happen that will be different than the anime/manga, but I don't think that'll be a bad thing. Let me know if there's anything in particular you want to see and maybe it'll appear! Thank you for reading and please keep up the encouraging reviews! 

Released on: 11/19/08


	8. The Early Morning

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Seven**  
_The Early Morning_

The morning was young, the sky outside still mostly dark as the sun had quite risen, when Byakuya woke with a start. He narrowed his dark eyes and gazed out of his window. There was nothing amiss on the grounds or in the mansion, but he trusted his instincts and they were telling him something was wrong. The question was what?

Byakuya closed his eyes and concentrated, letting his mind wander throughout the Seireitei, feeling out for the different reiatsu's until he found himself feeling _hers._ His eyes snapped open when his mind processed that hers had been weakened. He got out of bed in one smooth, swift movement and donned his robes, his kenseikan, and his white scarf. Then he ran out of the mansion and used shunpo to get to where he sensed Rukia was.

He arrived outside the gates of the headquarters of Squad 13 at the same time Rukia and Kaien did. "Rukia," he said softly, but with an edge, "explain yourself."

"Now look here— " Shiba-fukutaichou began before Rukia held her hand up at him and shook her head.

"It's okay," she whispered to him so faintly that Byakuya almost couldn't make out what she was saying. "Why don't you go make the report to Ukitake-taichou?"

"Are you sure?" he asked brusquely.

"Yes," she said a bit more urgently, "I'm sure."

Byakuya watched Shiba head to Jushiro's office for a brief moment before turning his attention back to Rukia and he found her approaching him with her graceful way of moving. It was unfortunate that he could see the cuts and bruises on her face and the way she was favoring her right arm. _His_ Rukia had been injured and he had not been there to protect. What had Jushiro been thinking to let Rukia go on a mission by herself? He was right; she had not been ready.

"I'm sorry for failing," she said, looking down at the ground. "I wasn't strong enough."

The way she said it made Byakuya reach out his hand instinctively to tilt her face up. "You weren't ready yet."

Her violet eyes, dim with disappointment, met his eyes for a bit before she averted them away from him. "I let the family down."

"Perhaps," Byakuya murmured, letting his hand fall back to his side, where he still felt the warmth of her skin on his, "it is time that I undertook your training personally."

Rukia's head jerked up and he saw the surprise in how her eyes widened. "What…?"

"Do I need to say it again?" Byakuya asked, keeping voice bland and bored, even though he felt nothing like that.

He was too used to what his grandfather, Ginrei had told him constantly in his youth, that he had to keep his temper in check, that he was a Kuchiki and that the others in the Soul Society looked to him for guidance. At first it had been hard, to always be calm and collected, but as the years had passed, his control had become absolute. Now he only showed emotion if he felt like it, instead of showing it because he couldn't control it.

"I would be honored if you would teach me," Rukia said softly in a way that Byakuya was sure that Ginrei would have approved of.

It was ironic to Byakuya how he knew that his grandfather would have approved of Rukia, but not of Hisana. Mostly because Rukia was able to exude the quiet grace of a noble _and_ she had a strong character. Hisana had been shy and elegant, but she didn't have strength. His family had worn her out and it had been his fault for not protecting her better.

"Byakuya-sama?"

He snapped out of his thoughts and gave Rukia a look that told her to continue.

"Are you not upset with me anymore?" She nibbled on her bottom lip and he found himself staring at her mouth, wondering what it would taste like. "I know that you weren't please when I left yesterday…"

"I was displeased with the situation," he admitted, forcing his eyes away from her and noticing that the sky had lightened up as the sun was beginning to rise. Soon he should be safely ensconced in his office, doing boring and repetitive paperwork that would get his mind off of Rukia. "You should report to your Taichou. It was your mission, after all, not Shiba-fukutaichou's."

"I suppose I'll see you at dinner…"

"Yes," he confirmed, "we will need to discuss when we'll meet for your training."

"Of course." Rukia made an awkward bow and he again could see clearly that she was unwell. "Have a good day, Byakuya-sama."

"Rukia."

"Yes?"

"Please tend to your wounds."

Rukia nodded and he watched her until she disappeared around the corner. He looked up at the beautiful dawn and sighed. Byakuya turned away from Squad 13 and used shunpo to quickly get to his office, where he found his Fukutaichou already hard at work sorting through the pile of paperwork.

"Kuchiki-taichou," she greeted politely, bowing her head in respect. "You're in early."

"As are you, Kinomoto-san," he stated.

"I always get up at this time," she said, "especially since you send me home early every day."

Byakuya took a seat at his desk. "I see we have more paperwork."

"They do seem to like assigning you to do this type of work," she responded. "Would you like me to get you some tea?"

"Yes, please," he answered, taking his brush and dipping it into the ink.

Byakuya stared down at the proposal that he needed to tend to, wondering why he had been assigned to desk duty so much recently. It wasn't that he particularly reveled in battle like Zaraki, but that didn't mean he liked being confined to his office to write report after write. There was one particular assignment he would need to see too, killing that damn Hollow that dared to harm his Rukia.

He would also have to set aside more time to train her as well. It was a pity Jushiro was always sick, he was well known to be a good teacher. Byakuya had his doubts about Shiba's instruction to Rukia. He was too impetuous by far and he'd probably taught her to head straight into battle without thinking. That would be his style, Byakuya thought darkly.

It was dangerous, though, Byakuya would fully admit, to spend too much time with her when he was already beginning to feel tempted. He was used to denying himself what he wanted, so why was he finding it so hard to resist? Byakuya sighed and stared out the window, wondering how to control the feelings that were threatening to burst to the surface.

-

**A/N: **I'm still wondering how close to canon I'm going to stick to, not sure on certain things yet, but we'll see. I introduced a little ACC, but mainly because Renji it is way, way, way too early for him to be a Lieutenant and Byakuya has to have one (even though Ukitake has been missing one since Kaien was killed in canon). I thought making this Lieutenant the polar opposite of Renji and more like Byakuya might be interesting in the long run… Anyway, thanks for listening to me ramble and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm sure you're going to enjoy the next one . See you soon!

Released on: 11/22/08


	9. Dancing Together

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Eight**  
_Dancing Together_

"You must concentrate," Byakuya said firmly. "You must unite yourself with your zanpakuto if you wish to learn its name."

Rukia held her zanpakuto tightly with both of her hands, her eyes closed as she tried to focus all her reiatsu into reaching out to her zanpakuto. _Please,_ she whispered fervently, _I wish to know your name, so that we may grow strong together. What is your name, my beautiful zanpakuto? I must rely on your guidance for any further growth. I must rely on you. _

It was quiet for what seemed like a very long time in Rukia's mind before she heard the clearing of a throat. _Sode no Shirayuki,_ she heard in her head. The voice was cold and elegant, lovely in sound. Rukia could feel the spirit of her zanpakuto and it reminded her in a way of Byakuya, so beautiful and proud. _Do not forget it. _

_Wait! _ Rukia cried out in her mind when she felt the presence of her zanpakuto starting to disappear. _Don't go… _But he had already gone.

"Was this time a success?" Byakuya asked, breaking the silence.

Rukia opened her eyes and glanced up at him. "His name is Sode no Shirayuki."

"An ice-type zanpakuto," he murmured. "Interesting."

She hadn't even thought to think about what the name might mean, but what Byakuya had said made sense. Of course, her zanpakuto would have something to do with ice, with a name like Sode no Shirayuki.

"Has he told you how to use him?"

Rukia glanced down at her zanpakuto. "No."

She expected Byakuya to say something that would make her cringe internally, although she would not dare to show him her weakness directly. Instead she was surprised when Byakuya said, "We shall try again tomorrow. The first communication is not always a revelation as much as most would like it to seem. I remember when Senbonzakura spoke to me…"

Rukia stared at him, gazing down at his zanpakuto, lost in thought. His long black hair swirled in front of his face because of a light breeze and he was utterly beautiful in her eyes. Then again, she wasn't the only one to think so. Rukia noticed how other female shinigamis, how females in general, looked at Byakuya when he walked by them – unaware of their admiration.

"She told me to get stronger first before relying on her," he murmured. "Your zanpakuto must think you're almost ready."

Every day she spent some time with him, she learned just a little bit more and it made her feel all the more close to him. "What must I do to be ready?"

"Keep training," he said, "and keep listening. Only your zanpakuto can help you here."

-

So Rukia followed his advice and she trained and trained with her zanpakuto. She practiced mainly with Kaien in the evenings before he and Miyako went to their modest home, and sometimes she practiced with Byakuya when he had the time. Kaien was strong and brutal in his training, harder on her after her failed mission than he had ever been before – not that he had been easy, but Rukia supposed he blamed himself for her failure. Despite Kaien's strength, he was nothing compared to her brother.

There were times when she fought Kaien and she could feel him straining, even if only for a second, against her. She had never pushed Byakuya that far. He fought her with languid grace, never seeming surprised at any thing she did, at any of her quick footwork or at the quick moves of her blade. Kaien fought with fiery passion and Byakuya fought with cool calculation.

Rukia held her zanpakuto with both of her hands and closed her eyes. Kaien told her that she thought too much when she fought; Byakuya told her she was too reckless by far. Both of them agreed on one thing, that she needed to learn how to release her zanpakuto if she wanted to improve further.

_Sode no Shirayuki,_ Rukia whispered. _Won't spare a moment and converse with me? _

Silence was his answer. Rukia, for some reason, knew that the spirit of her zanpakuto was male – cold, elegant, and powerful like her brother.

_I wish to become stronger, but I need your help. _

She felt a stirring in her zanpakuto, like his spirit was gathering. In her mind she saw a figure, cloaked in white, standing far off in the distance.

_Please help me…_

The figure approached her and she saw that he was tall, graceful. He extended an arm to her and said, _Dance with me. _

She took his hand and was swept away with their power together – dancing. Rukia never felt faster, never felt stronger than she did at this instant. She was dazzled and drawn to her zanpakuto more than ever and too soon it was over and she felt the spirit fading away.

She didn't have to be reminded this time not to forget, she knew exactly what Sode no Shirayuki was trying to tell her this way in his ambivalent manner. Rukia held her zanpakuto with her right hand, pointed to the ground, and whispered reverently, "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki."

Her zanpakuto transformed before her eyes into a beautiful white blade with an equally white crossguard and hilt. It was gorgeous and it was powerful.

"Well done," Byakuya said, coming from out of nowhere to stand behind her. He placed both of his hands on her shoulder. "Now rest."

Rukia wanted to tell him that she wasn't tired, that she wanted to try out her zanpakuto in its shikai release, but her limbs felt heavy and her eyes wouldn't stay open. She was exhausted and she felt herself sag back into Byakuya's warm arms. Strange, she thought, how warm he was when he looked so cold and unapproachable – at least he had, but recently he had changed.

And she found, she could lean on him now.

-

**A/N: **We're getting to the romance part, no worries. Thanks for reviewing! Happy Thanksgiving! I'll probably update as much as I can this next week or so, and then I'll have to slow down because of exams for med school. Christmas break will be sporadic, but I'll probably be able to release some chapters when I'm not on my trip to DC. Thanks for all your support and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Released on: 11/27/08


	10. A Sudden Realization

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Nine**  
_A Sudden Realization_

"I hardly ever see you now," Abarai complained, standing far too close to Rukia for Byakuya's taste.

"I've been busy training," Rukia said.

"Wanna spare after dinner then?" Abarai asked with a glint in his eyes. "I haven't fought with you in ages."

Byakuya wondered what had possessed him to allow Rukia to invite her friends over for dinner one evening, probably because she had smiled that bright smile at him and Byakuya found himself caving in whenever he saw it. Unfortunately, neither Hinamori or Kira had been able to make it, both of them busy with their duties as newly minted Fukutaichous. As much as Byakuya didn't mind Shiba and his wife not being able to attend because of a mission, they would have diffused the current awkwardness if they were here. Instead, he was stuck with Abarai.

"I heard you got transferred to Squad 11."

"That was a while back. We really do need to hang out more," Abarai remarked, looking at Rukia in a way that Byakuya decided was entirely inappropriate. "It's not like we're busy like Momo or Izuru."

"At least you're a seated officer," Rukia said with a sigh. "I haven't reached that level yet."

"I'm sure you will one day," Abarai responded, putting a comforting arm on her shoulder.

Byakuya gritted his teeth, knowing that he had no right to be jealous of Abarai, considering that Rukia was his adopted sister. He had no right to think of Rukia as anything other than his sibling. It was unthinkable, except being placed in this situation – to see Rukia being admired by Abarai so openly – it was intolerable. Rukia was too good for the likes of him.

"Abarai-san," Byakuya greeted, "I hope you are well."

"Kuchiki-taichou," Abarai said, his arm still touching Rukia, "how are you?"

"I am well," Byakuya said and gestured to the dining room. "Please follow me."

The sooner this fiasco was over, the better. Byakuya sat down on his place at the head of the table and he watched Rukia take her customary seat to his right and Abarai should have sat to his left, but instead took the seat to Rukia's side. Byakuya clenched his fist underneath the table, wondering what was going on with those two. Why were they acting so familiar?

"Kuchiki-sama," the maid said, "are you ready to eat yet?"

"Yes," he said, trying to keep his voice calm and steady when he felt anything but those emotions. "Please begin serving."

The food came out quickly, but not quick enough for Byakuya's satisfaction. While the meal was delicious as it always was, the food tasted dry and unsatisfying on his tongue. All Byakuya could do was sit and watch Rukia and Abarai interact like they were lost lovers finally reunited. If he had known it was going to be like this, he never would have let Rukia invite that man into his home.

"Byakuya-sama?" Rukia said, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Yes?" he sounded harsher than he would like, but it was hard to fully control himself when he wanted nothing more than to throw Abarai out of the mansion.

"Would you like to watch us spar later?" she asked. "You don't have to, if you can't spare the time…"

"Unfortunately, I'll be busy," he replied before he had thought about it.

Byakuya just wanted to save himself from having to see Rukia and Abarai interact anymore than was necessary, but at the same time after he said his answer, he should have said yes. He needed to keep an eye on Abarai to make sure he didn't try anything abominable.

"I understand."

That was pretty much the end of their conversation. Byakuya basically watched Rukia and Abarai talk animatedly, wondering why he never saw this side of her. She was alive, so flushed with excitement talking to this tattooed barbarian. Byakuya wanted her in every way that she was: quiet, graceful, a true Kuchiki at heart and when she was loud, energetic, and so bright with life.

He was ready to admit that he was fighting a futile battle, that if he continued to stay in the background admiring her, that he would lose her to Abarai and with good reason. Abarai paid attention to her, he openly showed her his admiration and it was only natural for her to respond to it. Rukia was growing up.

The problem was that Byakuya had sworn on his parents' graves that he would never break another law. Would pursuing Rukia go against everything he had been taught? Marrying Hisana certainly had been, but Rukia had been adopted into the Kuchiki family and was technically noble. However, she was also his common law sister. No matter how he looked at it, he was in a bind.

He wondered how the Elders would look at this situation. They had hardly wanted Hisana as part of the family and the same could be said about Rukia. But they now seemed to approve of Rukia as part of the family and recently they had been hinting at him that he should seek a wife and start a family. The only woman Byakuya had any interest was _Rukia_.

"May we be excused?" Rukia asked in her sweet, polite, very Kuchiki-like voice, so unlike the voice she chattered to Abarai with.

Byakuya cleared his throat and took a sip of his cold tea. "Don't take all night. There's something I need to discuss with you."

"Of course," she responded. "Where should I go and look for you later?"

"The garden."

Rukia nodded and bowed her head at him in the respectful manner that was shown to the Head of the Kuchiki clan. She rose from her seat and Abarai somehow managed to beat her standing and actually put a hand on her back to help her up. Byakuya didn't know what possessed him, but he too rose from his seat and followed them to the door out, waiting for Abarai to slide the door open and for them both to step out of the room.

When Rukia was almost out of reach, Byakuya grabbed her wrist and pulled her back into the room, causing her to lose her balance and lean against him. The feel of her body on him was heavenly and Byakuya stared down at her violet eyes, mesmerized.

"Byakuya-sama?"

There was a question in her eyes and the only answer he could give her was to cup her face and lower his own – to press his lips against hers in a sweet, tender kiss.

-

**A/N: **So the feelings have burst to the forefront, whatever is Rukia going to do? Better tune into the next chapter and find out, eh?  I feel that jealousy was probably the easiest way to bring out Byakuya's passion, since we didn't want to wait too much longer for the romance to start, as it's already chapter 9. I hope that you like this chapter and thank you for reviewing the last chapter! It definitely sparked my imagination and this is the result! See you soon! Enjoy the quick release!

Oh and some reviewers seem to like the idea that Rukia's zanpakuto was male and others wondered why it was male instead of female. There's a particular reason I chose Rukia's zanpakuto to be male vs. female and you'll find out soon. Just be patient!

Released on: 11/28/08


	11. To Understand the Heart

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Ten**  
_To Understand the Heart_

"You should go now," Byakuya murmured, brushing a lock of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes. "You don't want to keep Abarai waiting."

"Nii-sama?" she asked, her voice small and soft, uncertain.

Rukia had no idea what to think. Byakuya had just _kissed_ her as if they were lovers, not brother and sister. To be honest, they weren't in blood and Rukia had found herself looking at him as a man more than a few times, but by Soul Society law they were brother and sister. What they had done was wrong and Byakuya never did anything that was wrong.

"We'll talk later," Byakuya said in that particular tone that was impossible to argue against. "Now go."

Rukia didn't know what else to do, so she left. She guided Renji to the courtyard where they could pit their skills against each other – unfortunately she was horribly lost in thought. What was going on? Why had Byakuya…? She couldn't even think of what he had done in words, it was just the image, the impression of his lips on hers, was thrilling and terrifying at the same time.

"Rukia?" Renji said, putting a hand on her shoulder and jostling her out of her thoughts. He put his face in front of hers. "You there?"

She put a finger on his forehead and pushed him back. "Don't get in my face like that, you know I don't like it."

"Not my fault you drifted off on me," he muttered. "Is this the place you were talking about?" he asked, gesturing at the wide-open courtyard.

She nodded and he gave her a huge grin. "You ready?" he asked, grasping the hilt of his zanpakuto. "Don't expect me to go easy on you because you're not in Squad 11."

"Why would I expect that?" she retorted. "I'd be insulted if you didn't try your very hardest."

"I heard you'd achieve your shikai release," he remarked. "About damn time."

Rukia glared at him. "I heard you can finally do hado #31 with some control."

Renji narrowed his eyes at her. "You always were better at kido than me."

"And you were always better at zanjutsu."

"Shall we?" Renji asked as he withdrew his zanpakuto.

Rukia withdrew hers and held it firmly with her right hand as she whispered, "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki."

"Howl, Zabimaru!" Renji exclaimed.

She had to admit, Renji's shikai release was impressive. There was blunt strength in the appearance of his zanpakuto whereas hers was sleek elegance. It would be fun to spar with Renji again, like the old times, too bad she couldn't really concentrate on this fight wholeheartedly. Instead she was wondering what Byakuya wanted to discuss later. Did it have anything to do with what had happened earlier?

Was he attracted to her? And if he was, was she also attracted to him? She had never really considered Byakuya as a romantic interest, even though she found him beautiful to look at. It was just… Byakuya was her brother.

"Pay attention!" Renji shouted as Zabimaru flew past her head, missing her face by scant inches. "What are you thinking, fighting when you're not putting all you've got into it? If you're not going to take this fight seriously, then—"

Rukia didn't give him a chance to respond. She'd think about Byakuya later, after this fight, before she went to find him, that's when she'd think about what was going on here. Rukia used senka, a variation of shunpo that would put her quickly behind her opposite to attack his vulnerable back. It was Byakuya's favorite way to use shunpo and she was getting better at it, but she couldn't pull it off with the near invisibility that he could.

"You're quick," Renji remarked, bringing Zabimaru back to him to defend against Sode no Shirayuki. "You've been learning from Kuchiki."

"That's Kuchiki-taichou," she admonished, parrying off his attack with quick handiwork that almost erased their difference in strength. But she was nowhere near as good as Renji was with sword-to-sword combat. There was little chance she would beat Renji unless she used a dance.

"Some no mai, tsukishiro!" Rukia exclaimed as she slashed the air where Renji had been.

Both Byakuya and Kaien had told her that she had to time her attacks perfectly if she wanted them to work against her opponents. She had miscalculated again. Rukia gritted her teeth together and used shunpo to attack Renji before he could recover and attack her with Zabimaru.

"You've an ice-type zanpakuto," Renji said, pushing his zanpakuto against hers, forcing her back. "Does it have a form like Hitsugaya-taichou's?"

Rukia shrugged and retreated a few steps, breathing a little heavily, bracing her zanpakuto up when Renji started attacking her furiously with Zabimaru. At the third blow, Rukia thought her arms would give out. Luckily, Renji drew his zanpakuto back to him and rested it on his shoulder.

"You've improved," he said.

"Of course," Rukia replied, "did you expect me to stay at the same skill level?"

"You've improved a lot," Renji amended. "I think we can call this a draw."

"Why?" Rukia asked, knowing that he still had quite a bit more fight left in him. "Tired already?"

Renji's eyes averted away from her to the side. "Your brother is waiting for you."

Rukia followed Renji's gaze and saw Byakuya standing there still like a statute with an impassive face. She bit her bottom lip and released Sode no Shirayuki from his shikai form before re-sheathing him. "I suppose I'll see you at some other time."

"You count on it," Renji said, putting his zanpakuto away. "It's been _years_ since we spent this much time together."

Rukia looked at him, wondering what it was that was in his eyes. She didn't quite understand, too bewildered by all that was going on right now. "We both got busy."

"We can always make time," he said softly, then looked away from her. "I should be going. I don't want to keep_ Kuchiki-taichou_ waiting overlong."

"I'll see you soon," she promised.

"I'll hold you to it." Renji gave her a quick nod and saluted at Byakuya before he turned around and ran in the direction of the Seireitei.

Rukia had never really thought about where he lived, but it would make sense that the barracks would be his home since he didn't really have a place like she did to go home to. She took a deep breath, the memory of Byakuya kissing her suddenly flooding her mind. She had wanted time to think, to ponder, to analyze what was going on, but she wasn't being given any time.

"Rukia," Byakuya said.

She turned around and automatically started closing the distance between them. She noticed he was also moving toward her. How strange, she thought, she always felt like she was the one trying to close the gap and now he was doing it too.

"What's going on?" she asked with a moment of bravado. "Why did you kiss me?"

Byakuya was standing so close to her that she felt like she could feel him against her skin, if such a thing was even possible. He raised his hand to her face and she actually leaned into it. His skin was deliciously warm against hers.

"Why do you think I kissed you?" he whispered intently.

Rukia had no idea how to answer that. Did she dare say it? What if she was wrong? He rubbed his thumb against her lips and she felt paralyzed by his touch, unable to move. He smiled faintly.

"I think you know the answer." Byakuya lowered his face to hers. "I have held you in highest regard for the longest time."

"Nii-sama…"

Byakuya drew back and Rukia felt the loss. "You are not exactly my sister."

"I'm not," Rukia agreed, looking up at him with her wide violet eyes. Did she even like him in the way a woman likes a man? "But—"

"Think carefully about what you're going to say," he told her softly.

He didn't have to say it because she understood him well enough to know that he would never bring this up again if her answer didn't encourage the current situation. Rukia looked down at her hands, fiddling with them as she often did when she didn't know what to do.

She didn't know how she felt about him because she had _never_ thought about him in that way. How could she? He was Byakuya, the Head of the Kuchiki family with blood that was so noble it was unthinkable he would even marry someone like her from one of the worst districts of Rukongai.

Although… from the little that she had heard about his former wife, she hadn't come from one of the noble families in the Seireitei either. She had come from one of the lesser districts, but it was hardly possible she had come from a district as bad as the 78th. How could she even think of being with Byakuya when she was so inferior?

"I'm not worthy of you," Rukia said, still staring down at the ground.

Byakuya tipped her face up so that she was forced to meet his piercing eyes. "I'll be the judge of that."

She was about to protest to that, but she stopped just as she parted her lips. Instead she shut her mouth and stared into the vast sea of gray. Byakuya had lovely, serious eyes. If this situation, conversation had come from anyone else she would find it impossible to take seriously.

He meant what he was saying, he thought she was worthy of his affection and what he was asking her was to decide if he was allowed to court her. Rukia knew what she should do because there was no way that the Elders would approve of her and Byakuya. There was simply no chance. The problem was she was tempted by his proposition. Who wouldn't be? Byakuya was Byakuya. Who could say no to him?

"Rukia…" his voice trailed off as she noted how sweet her name sounded from his lips.

She was so mesmerized that at first she didn't even notice the hell butterfly that was flying right in front of her face until it said, "Kuchiki Rukia!"

Rukia blinked and focused in on the hell butterfly. "Ukitake-taichou requests your presence at Squad 13 headquarters immediately!"

Her eyes drifted briefly to Byakuya, who looked resigned, before they darted back to the hell butterfly. "I understand. I'll leave at once."

The hell butterfly turned in the direction of Squad 13 and Rukia glanced back at Byakuya, hoping he understood. "Byakuya-sama, I…"

"You can tell me later," he said, looking at her kindly.

"Thank you," she said before she quickly followed behind the hell butterfly back to Squad 13.

As Rukia flew toward her squad headquarters, all she could think about was Byakuya standing there, having bared his heart, now waiting for her to come back to tell him if what he wanted was a possibility. The question was, did she dare dream the impossible?

-

**A/N: **The longest chapter yet! I hope it's worth the wait! And hopefully it's not too sudden of a transition in feelings. It's not that Rukia doesn't feel for Byakuya, she just has never allowed herself to hope something like this would happen because it seems so much more impossible than say for her to be adopted into the Kuchiki family, which she still doesn't feel like she belongs too. Also, Byakuya asking in his own way to court her seems appropriate to me for his personality – to do things properly. And I think if she did say no, he would never bring it up again. What do you think? Enjoy the chapter and please review! You guys have been great so far!

Released on: 12/1/08


	12. An Unexpected Tragedy

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Eleven**  
_An Unexpected Tragedy_

Watching Rukia run to do her duty to her squad and to her taichou gave Byakuya a feeling of both regret and pride – regret because he had to await her answer and pride that she was loyal to her squad. Any taichou would be lucky to have her in their squad.

Byakuya sighed and stared vacantly out at the night's sky, wondering if he had been too hasty and foolish approaching her all at once because of a moment's jealousy. He should have reined in this sudden rash urge to possess Rukia because of Renji. He should have acted in patient manner, slowly letting her get used to the idea of him as something other than her brother. He should have allowed the feeling of him as a man to grow stronger before asking her permission to court her. Now that would have been the right thing to do.

Not to kiss her impulsively like that and force a decision of that magnitude all of a sudden – that was wrong, but he couldn't take that back anymore. What was done was done and if her answer was negative, then he wouldn't bring up the issue again. It would be history.

At the very least, he would give her time to think. He would not press her for the answer and while he waited, he could attempt to approach in the respectable manner that she deserved. He just hoped that when she made up her mind, it would be an answer that would allow him to truly look forward to the future for the first time in years.

-

"Ukitake-taichou?" Rukia said in an uncertain voice when she saw that his office was shrouded in darkness.

"Come in Rukia," he said softly.

She walked into the room and knelt down before him respectfully. "You requested my presence?"

"I need your help."

Ukitake stared past her and she instinctively followed his gaze to a shadowed figure clutching what seemed to be a shinigami's robes. Rukia was about to ask who it was when she realized she knew exactly who it was. It was Kaien and the robes could only belong to Miyako.

"What happened?" she asked.

"They decided to take on an additional task after completing their original mission," Ukitake said carefully.

Rukia almost couldn't bear to say it, but she did: "What task?"

"Do you remember the mission you were assigned?"

She nodded slowly, staring at Kaien with pained eyes.

"They caught track of that Hollow on the way back from the other assignment. Of course, Miyako asked permission via a hell butterfly before they engaged in the fight," Ukitake continued in a far off voice. "Since she was one to ask for the assignment, it became her mission. Miyako knew a fair amount about the Hollow, having tracked it for a few days before coming back with information that it was weak and suitable for a debut solo mission, which became yours."

"Taichou…"

Ukitake turned to Rukia and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Unfortunately, neither of them knew of the Hollow's special ability."

"What happened?" she asked in a shaking voice.

"The Hollow's tentacles have the special ability to break a shinigami's zanpakuto, if it is the first of the night to touch them, which sadly it was for Miyako." Ukitake paused in respect, sliding his eyes toward Kaien, who was still clutching his wife's robes. "Before Kaien could do anything, the Hollow possessed Miyako and he was forced to kill the Hollow and her…"

"Kaien-dono," Rukia whispered.

"He's been sitting there since he returned several hours ago," Ukitake said. "I've tried to talk to him, but he won't say anything. He won't move either. I didn't know what else to do. I even sent for Kiyone and Sentaro, hoping they would irritate him out of this, but he looked past them like they didn't exist. If I hadn't sent a hell butterfly with him and Miyako, I wouldn't even know what had taken place."

Her Taichou looked down at her with his kind, sincere eyes. "I have tried my best and I think you're the only in this squad that Kaien might respond to, otherwise I will have to send him out of the Seireitei to his family."

"Ukitake-taichou," Rukia said seriously, "I will try my best."

Ukitake smiled at her. "I know you will." He gestured to Kaien, slumped against the far wall of the office, seemingly isolated. "I will leave you to it then."

Rukia watched her Taichou rise from behind his desk and leave through the sliding door. Only after he had left did she turn her attention to Kaien. She didn't really know what to do, but Ukitake believed in her and how could she not go to Kaien and comfort him in the hour of his greatest need? He was her mentor; he was the one who had showed her how to be a _true_ shinigami; he was truly a brother.

She realized at this moment that Byakuya had never been her brother, even though he was hers in name, that honor was Kaien's. Rukia shook her head, now was not the time to think of Byakuya. She would deal with that later. There were more important things that needed her attention.

Rukia rose to her feet and slowly, quietly approached Kaien. He never once raised his face to acknowledge her like the Kaien she knew would. Instead he sat still, unmoving. Rukia fell to her knees beside him and touched Kaien's shoulder.

He refused to look at her.

She wasn't about to give up.

"Kaien-dono," she said, then louder, "Kaien-dono!"

She shook him, but there was absolutely no response. No wonder Ukitake was so concern, why he had sent a hell butterfly to get her. Even she didn't know what to do, how to pull Kaien out of this.

He was alive, he was warm to her touch, but he was dead inside.

"I don't know how it feels," Rukia admitted softly, "to lose someone that you love so much, but even though it hurts, I think it would hurt Miyako even more to know that you gave up living because she died. You don't want to hurt her, do you Kaien-dono?

"I think it would make her happy to know that you're living a full life," she continued. "I would be if I were in her shoes. I think that—"

"What you think makes no difference," Kaien told her in the coldest voice she had ever heard from him. He didn't sound like Kaien at all. "I _killed_ her Rukia. I _killed_ my wife. Do you understand? I have her blood on my hands. How can I ever forgive myself? How can I live, knowing what I've done? How can I—"

Rukia couldn't stand to hear him accusing himself of something that he couldn't have stopped. Instead she threw her arms arm him and held him for all she was worth and said in a rush, "Do you hear yourself? Do you think Miyako would forgive you if you don't forgive yourself? You saved her from a fate worse than death! Now she can be reborn to a better life…"

She paused and forced Kaien to look into her watery eyes. "Miyako was the kindest, gentlest, the _best_ person I know and I believe that her fondest wish would be for you to be as happy as you can be for now until you can rejoin her later."

Kaien stared at her with his blank dark eyes for a long, long time before he finally said in a hoarse voice, "Do you really think we'll be together sometime in the future?"

Rukia nodded fiercely, rubbing away the tears that threaten to streak down her pale cheeks. "How can two people who are destined to be together not be together?"

-

**A/N: **I'm sure you're all going ARGH, why did she do that? Well, this part of the story does serve a purpose as I'm sure the astute reader will pick up on. I mean there needs to be push for Rukia to be with Byakuya and what better push than this? It's the sum total of your experiences that tell you how you live your life and every moment has an effect, no matter how minor or how major. This experience would have a profound effect on Rukia and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and I will try to get as many chapters out before my exams as I can. Please review, I love hearing from my readers on what you think and what you'd like to see happen or any of your thoughts! Thanks again!

One of the reviewers brought up a good question, they asked if it was going to be like the anime w/ Rukia's execution and all? Well, so far, we're still a couple of years away from that part of the timeline and already things have changed (i.e. w/ Rukia not killing Kaien). As for Rukia's execution, going to the real world, meeting Ichigo and the others, Aizen and the huge betrayal to the Soul Society, the Arrancar/Espada, etc. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but it will all be incorporated in some kind of fashion. Yes, this is a romance, but I think I'll spice it up with some action as well. Keep you guys on your toes and all. If you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know what you think should happen. I'm all ears :).

Released on: 12/4/08


	13. Underneath the Moonlight

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Twelve**  
_Underneath the Moonlight_

Had it really been a fortnight since that night when he had kissed her and pretty much confessed his feelings? Byakuya sighed and dipped his brush into the ink. He had fallen back into the habit of staying late at his office in Squad 6 because Rukia was with Shiba. Byakuya fully admitted he was not pleased with the situation, although he did not allow himself to be jealous in this particular instance.

He understood what Rukia was doing and he had to commend her for being such a good friend to Shiba. Still it was irritating that she spent every spare minute with him when she wasn't doing her Squad 13 duties, that she didn't even have time to have dinner with him in the evenings. So instead of eating alone in the big mansion that was his home, Byakuya had taken to eating at his office and sending his Fukutaichou to get him food before she left for the day.

Byakuya also was beginning to believe Rukia was avoiding him because she didn't want to give him an unsatisfactory answer. Although he knew he appeared extremely patient to most people, he and his grandfather, Ginrei knew the truth – he was not patient at all. If anything, he hated waiting and waiting.

At the same time, he was afraid that if he pushed her for an answer he would end up driving her away. He had already sprung his feelings on her without a warning of any kind. If she was to refuse his advances, it was well within her right. He had even forced a kiss on her.

Byakuya stared down at the paperwork in front of him and set his brush down, smearing the ink across it. He couldn't concentrate on work anymore. He been working nonstop, trying to drown himself in it so he wouldn't think about how he'd feel if her answer was negative. He needed to get out of the office; he needed to go somewhere, anywhere.

Without intending to, Byakuya found himself at his parents' grave. He stopped and paid them a quick prayer of respect before he moved on to his grandfather's. He stared at the stone marker that was etched with the name of Kuchiki Ginrei, the former 6th Taichou.

His grandfather hadn't been the easiest person to get along with, but Byakuya had bonded with his grandfather more than he ever had with his father. His father was distant, unapproachable, but his grandfather wasn't. Maybe it was because they shared so much in common, as his father frequently pointed out.

He had learned most of what he knew on how to be a shinigami, a respectable individual from his grandfather. While Ginrei had never approved of Hisana, he had never said an ill word of her and for that Byakuya was grateful. It was truly a pity that Ginrei had passed away before he could know of Rukia.

That year had been extremely hard, losing his wife and his grandfather all at once. If Ginrei hadn't taught him to be emotionally strong, he might have faltered. But he hadn't and if Rukia allowed him to court her, he wouldn't back down – no matter what criticism might blast their way from the Elders.

"I think I might have to break a law," Byakuya murmured to his grandfather's stone marker, "if the Elders don't approve of Rukia and even if they don't, I think you would. I know you were ambivalent about Hisana, but Rukia is different. She reminds me of you in a way, strong and resilient and truly noble in heart and manner."

The wind whistled then, blowing against his face and he wondered if it was possible that his grandfather had heard his words and was trying to make some kind of response?

"I sincerely believe that you and her would have been fast friends."

Byakuya paused, staring at the stone marker for a while before bowing respectfully before he used shunpo to literally fly home. He didn't know why he was in a rush all of a sudden, when he knew for a fact that there was nothing at home to tempt him to speed like this, for some reason he just knew that he should get home as soon as possible. Byakuya was almost there when he caught a glimmer of Rukia flying home with her shunpo.

She was getting good at shunpo, but she was still no match from him. Byakuya leaned back, slowly his shunpo just enough so that she could catch a glimpse of him before he sped up so much that his feet only just barely touched the ground. He easily beat Rukia back to the main grounds of the Kuchiki mansion. She wasn't far behind though. He only had enough time to turn around when she arrived, looking winded.

"Rukia," he said in greeting, smiling what he hoped was a more pleasant one than the one that his Fukutaichou had once told him in a moment of bravery was rather cold, "you're home early."

"I'm sorry," she said breathlessly.

Byakuya felt a tightening in his chest after he heard and comprehended her words. "What for?" he asked in a whisper, almost not wanting to say anything for the fear that his hopes would be over once she had vocalized her feelings.

"For taking so long," Rukia said. "I should have told you from the very beginning."

How ironic, he thought, how nothing could graze his pride, much less his heart, except for this slip of a girl standing in front of him with her large, round violet eyes reflecting the shimmering moon above them. She wasn't classically beautiful, not tall and slender as was the standard, but she was breathtaking in his opinion. Byakuya wanted to reach out, to pull her to him, yet he didn't have the right. She wasn't his to hold.

"I want to apologize for that," she continued and his heart felt heavy.

She wasn't his period. It was a depressing thought, but if that was her decision then he would respect it. He only hoped that the man she did choose would respect her, honor her, and _love_ her as much as he did. And he hoped that he would find that man worthy, if only to ease the pain of not being the one to care and cherish her.

At least, _the very least,_ he was her brother and he would always have a place in her life.

"Do you have a moment?" she asked in a suddenly shy voice.

_For you, I have all the time in the world_, he thought but didn't say. Byakuya nodded instead and responded with, "Of course."

-

**A/N: **Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I couldn't help myself. Doesn't this make you want to read more? Reminds of watching the anime and I can't wait for the next episode to come out!!! I want more Byakuya and Rukia, although I think their parts are about to be done for this season… ah well, what was shown was so great!

Oh because this chapter was shorter than I expected it to be, I've included an omake at the end. It's not really funny or anything, but this is the direction that I almost took the previous chapter (11). I ended up cutting it and rewriting it and I like the new version a lot and I'm sure you will too, but I figured it be interesting for the readers to see what how I write and end up cutting stuff!

Thanks for reading and keep reviewing! It totally makes me want to write as much and as soon as possible. Enjoy the omake and I hope to have the next chapter out ASAP. _Also please note, that I have switched to Japanese for Captain and Lieutenant now and have changed all the previous chapters to match. Thanks!_

Released: 12/7/08

-

**Omake #1**: _Oh no! Beware Rukia!_

Rukia was standing in front of Kaien, unsure of what to do. She turned to Ukitake with a desperate look in her eyes. He stared back at her with an equally distressed look she found as utterly surprising as the blank one on Kaien.

What was she supposed to do? How was she to approach Kaien and tell him to shake out of the funk he was in? How could she when she perfectly understood his feelings on the issue? She'd feel the same way if someone as precious to her as Miyako was to him had died by a Hollow's hand while she watched on helpless to do anything.

Rukia didn't understand how it had happened, though. She knew Kaien would have protected Miyako to the death. Something wasn't right. She glanced at him again, wondering what could be wrong with him when she suddenly heard him laugh unnaturally.

He whirled around so quickly with his zanpakuto dawn that Rukia could only watch in horror as he launched himself at her.

-

Postnote: Um, that's it. Only one more thing to ask, do you want to see more omakes? That's if… there's anymore big cut scenes. I don't keep the ones that are small stored anywhere. ^_^;;


	14. The Long Awaited Answer

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Thirteen**  
_The Long Awaited Answer_

Rukia remembered saying to Kaien on that fateful night, _"How can two people who are destined to be together not be together?" _

As she looked up at Byakuya, she wondered if this was fate that was bringing them together or if it was all in her imagination. How could a girl from the 78th district of Rukongai be with the Head of the Kuchiki family?

But she had thought about that night when Kaien had lost Miyako and she had let herself dream of being with Byakuya as silly and outrageous as it probably would sound to others. She had never consciously realized it until confronted with the possibility of being with him that she compared every man she knew to Byakuya. He was the standard that all others had to measure to.

Of course, it would be this way. Rukia let her eyes focus in on his beautiful face before drifting down to the strength of his shoulders and further down to his slender, but masculine body hidden away by his robes. He was perfect, utterly perfect.

This had to be a dream, that he wanted her, but she was going to let this dream continue. At worst, it would shatter and end. And at best? At best, they could live in this dream forever and ever…

And to be honest, if she didn't try she knew she'd regret it.

"I don't want to be your sister anymore," she said carefully, looking deeply into his eyes and not faltering, not hesitating, not looking away.

Byakuya truly smiled. "What do you want to be then?" he asked as he framed her face with his hands.

"I want to be what you want me to be," she whispered. Rukia felt her cheeks heat up as she blushed fiercely underneath his piercing gaze. "If you still want me, that is."

"I do," he declared, lowering his face to hers and pressing his lips against hers. The kiss was sweet and too short. "This won't be easy," he told her. "I'm not sure how the Elders will react."

"Why do we have to tell them?" Rukia asked, saying it before she even thought about it. Of course, Byakuya would inform the Elders that he was courting her. That was the only proper thing to do and if there was something that defined him, he always did what was right and proper. "I don't mean that you shouldn't tell them," she said quickly. "It's just…"

"It would be easier if we didn't," he finished for her with a faint smile.

Rukia decided then that whatever happened, she would always try to make him smile more. He looked _happy_ and she didn't want that to disappear. She just hoped she could be the one for him… and that he could be the one for her… and let fate decide the rest.

"Rukia," he said, her name sounding so lovely from his lips, "I think we can remain silent for now."

"What?" she asked, so distracted by his voice that she hadn't comprehended what he had said. She saw amusement quirk his lips upward for a brief moment that she wasn't absolutely sure that she saw it or if it was her mind playing tricks on her.

"We will ease the Elders slowly into this," Byakuya said.

"How?"

This time Rukia was sure that she wasn't imagining the amusement on his face.

"I'll drop hints," he declared as if it was that obvious.

She could only stare at him as he held out his hand to her after saying something so unlike himself that she couldn't believe he had said it. Just when she thought she had him all figured out, he went and surprised her again and again. Who would have thought that he would want her when she had thought for the longest time he didn't even like her?

How strange, she thought, how fate worked.

"Take my hand," he urged.

She slipped her hand into his, her fingers entwined with his. "Byakuya?"

He looked down at her, his usually cold eyes she suddenly found kind and caring. It was ironic how fast her perspective of him had changed when she began to see him as a lover. She blushed at that thought.

"I like it when you say my name," he said softly.

Rukia was fairly certain her face was pink. "I like it when you said mine as well." She cleared her throat and before she could chicken out of saying this because it sounded so girly for her to say this, not like her at all, but for some reason she needed to say it. "Don't let go of me."

He truly smiled again for the second time and it dazzled her. "I won't," he promised.

-

It was early in the morning and Byakuya was standing by the window in his bedroom, watching as the sun began its morning journey into the sky. He could already tell it was going to be a beautiful day and it was only fitting, he thought, unable to control the smile that was on his face.

For the days, the weeks, she had made him wait for her answer – it had been worth it.

He knew things were going to be difficult with the Elders, but he hardly cared. Rukia was worth whatever any difficulties they decided to put him through. He didn't care what they did as long as they didn't touch her.

Even though he had told her he would gradually let them know about them – he was sure the Head Elder already knew. Byakuya swore that man had eyes everywhere in any matter that concerned the Kuchiki family. Now if Takahiro decided to be difficult, then things could get unpleasant; however, he was generally reasonable unlike some of the Elders. Luckily, it was his opinion that counted most.

Byakuya picked up his scarf and draped it on his shoulders, then he grabbed his zanpakuto and left his room. As he was leaving for the weekly Taichou's Meeting, he passed by Rukia's room as he always did on those mornings. Usually he would pause outside for a brief moment before moving on. Last night had changed everything, though.

This morning, Byakuya slid the door open to her room and stood staring at her peacefully sleeping form with a fond smile on his lips. She looked so innocent and young like she could break under the slightest pressure, but he knew she wouldn't. She was strong and fierce and everything he could hope for.

And he would protect her with everything he had.

-

_Please note, that I have switched to Japanese for Captain and Lieutenant now and have changed all the previous chapters to match. _Okay, now onto your regularly scheduled note…

**A/N: **So how was that for sweet and romantic? Hopefully, I didn't get too fluffy or sappy, since I don't think either Byakuya or Rukia would be like that. I want to get it just right, to show they do like each other and want to be together w/o going overboard. Let me know what you think.

I also need to tell you that I have exams coming up and I'll be testing for the next week and a half, so I have written about 2 chapters ahead and will release those in that timeframe. It probably won't be as often as I usually update, but at least you won't be going 2 weeks without an update! And may I say thank you for all your wonderful reviews and encouragement? They really keep me going!

Released: 12/9/08


	15. The Good Afternoon

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Fourteen**  
_The Good Afternoon_

Rukia felt like she was living in a dream, even though nothing much had changed about their routine. They began their day by eating breakfast in the main dining room, unless it was one of the mornings he had a Taichou's Meeting to attend. They conversed as usual about their upcoming day, although she found it more intimate than before. Then they left for their respective posts.

She reported to Squad 13, took on her assignments for the day, ate lunch with her fellow squad members, and then late in the afternoon most of the time, she would spar with Kaien like nothing had changed. Of course, they had though. Kaien still wasn't his usual self and he had yet to resume his Fukutaichou duties. He had retreated home to his sister and brother and refused to return to the Seireitei.

It would take time and Rukia knew that Ukitake would give Kaien all the time that he needed. Unfortunately, the co-4th seats Kiyone and Sentaro didn't run Squad 13 anywhere near the level that Kaien had. They were too busy arguing or trying to outdo the other, especially in the presence of Ukitake-taichou.

Rukia sighed and gave an encouraging smile at the new recruits that she had taken over the training of since Kaien had left. It didn't leave her as much time to improve her own skills, which was slightly disappointing.

Although she still practiced with Kaien, it was more about doing something that was reassuring to him than training her. If it helped him, she didn't care how much time it took, but Rukia had the feeling it wasn't helping at all. Kaien was just going through the motions, trying to recapture the life that he'd lost when Miyako had died.

At least she had Byakuya, even thinking of him made her cheeks warm up and her eyes glow with joy. Rukia had never thought that being with someone would make her so happy, but it did. Maybe it was just Byakuya and the fact he cared so much about her. She had never noticed before, but he did so many little meaningful things to show her his affection.

Too bad Byakuya was also rather busy with his squad and didn't have as much time to help train her. And to be honest, the time they did have she would much rather spend with him romantically. Despite the difficulties, she had progressed to her second dance. Rukia still couldn't perform it as powerfully or as consistently as she would like and Sode no Shirayuki was as exacting as she was. He wouldn't let her move on until she had mastered this dance.

"Rukia-san!" Kiyone exclaimed with Sentaro right behind her.

"Ukitake-taichou would like to see you!" Sentaro said before Kiyone could.

"If you have a spare moment!" Kiyone interjected.

Rukia smiled apologetically at the new recruits. "I'm afraid we'll have to continue this some other time."

"Don't worry about them," Kiyone declared, "I'll take over for you and show them how to wield their zanpakuto."

"I shall supervise them as well," Sentaro added.

Rukia gave them a weak smile and she could see the strain in the new recruits. Kiyone and Sentaro were good shinigamis – they just had a tendency to want to outdo the other. "I think they've had enough for today," Rukia remarked. "I'm sure you both have very important things that need to be done."

"Lots of paperwork," Sentaro said and Kiyone actually nodded in agreement with him.

"We never knew how much work Shiba-fukutaichou did," Kiyone responded. "I guess I better finish my part and start yours."

"I'll do mine and yours!" Sentaro exclaimed as they headed to their joint office, which in actuality was Kaien's, but theirs for the moment.

Rukia shook her head and turned back to the new recruits. "Keep practicing and I'm sure you'll improve enough to be sent on your first group mission soon."

"Thank you, Kuchiki-san," a couple of them told her. "For everything."

"It's the least I can do," she responded graciously, remembering back in the day how she had felt when Kaien had helped her with mastering zanjutsu. "I should go see what Ukitake-taichou wants. Practice hard."

"We will, Kuchiki-san!"

Rukia waved at them and took her leave. She quickly headed down the hallway to Ukitake's office, knocking politely and entering swiftly once he gave her permission. "Ukitake-taichou? Kiyone-san and Sentaro-san said you requested my presence," she said, sinking to the cushion on the floor in front of his desk.

"I did," Ukitake confirmed, looking at her with his kind eyes, "I wanted to tell you how grateful I am for all the work that you've done recently. I know it hasn't been an easy two months for you."

Rukia didn't bother to deny it. The last two months had been hard, but they had also been the best two months of her life thanks to Byakuya. It was just too bad they didn't have more time together. It could be worse. They saw each other most nights at dinner and afterwards they would talk about their day and if they weren't too tired… Byakuya would help her with her zanjutsu, her kido, her shunpo.

"I have asked a lot of you recently and you have done it all with such willingness," Ukitake continued. "I've noticed too that your zanjutsu has improved quite a bit recently. I'm curious, who have you been practicing with?"

"Kuchiki-taichou," Rukia answered. "He's… been training me since that incident with the Hollow."

"You've excelled under his tutelage," Ukitake remarked.

"Thank you."

"Although your first solo mission didn't go as planned that was hardly any fault of yours. That Hollow was exceedingly strong and clever, enough so to deceive both Kaien and Miyako. I have been meaning to send you on your next mission, but unfortunately I have a greater need for you elsewhere. The new recruits need to go on their first group mission and I think that as their mentor you being with them would be a great boost to their morale.

"Don't worry," he said, "I realize the new recruits aren't ready yet, but I believe they will be soon and I want you to start training harder if you can to be prepared to protect them as their senior."

"Ukitake-taichou, I—"

"I believe in you and your abilities," Ukitake declared. "You might not be a seated officer, but that doesn't mean you don't have remarkable talent. You've come a long way in the few years that you have been in Squad 13 and I'm very proud of you."

Rukia didn't know what to say – all she could do was look at him with her big violet eyes. Her Taichou was simply wonderful.

"There's one last thing I need to ask of you."

"What is it?" she asked, knowing she would do her very best to fulfill whatever he asked of her.

"I hear that you visit Kaien often."

Rukia nodded. "I do. He's doing better."

"Yes," Ukitake agreed, "I visited him a week ago. He seems to be doing well enough. I don't expect him to ever forget the unfortunate situation, but what he is doing, isolating himself at home – it's not good for him. I think it would be best for him to return to the squad." He paused and looked at her. "I need you to approach him."

Rukia had thought the same thing, but hadn't been able to bring it up to Kaien yet. "I'm not sure how to do that."

Ukitake smiled kindly at her. "You know him better than anyone in the squad. I'm sure you'll find a way."

"I'll do my best."

"And that's all anyone can ask," he murmured. "Now take the rest of the afternoon off and enjoy yourself. You deserve it for all the hard work you've been doing recently."

Rukia had been thinking of visiting Kaien this afternoon, but since she was leaving _early_ from her duties she thought she could visit Byakuya for a short while before heading to the Shiba house. Rukia bowed politely to Ukitake before taking off to the other side of the Seireiten where Squad 6 was based. She used shunpo and was there before she knew it.

She nibbled on her bottom lip, wondering if she was going to make an imposition on Byakuya, not thinking that he might be really busy and not thinking about the fact that they were keeping their relationship hidden for the moment. She was about to turn around and leave when the Fukutaichou of Squad 6 saw her and waved.

"Have you come to see Kuchiki-taichou?" Kinomoto asked.

Rukia nodded and Kinomoto gestured down the hallway to Byakuya's office.

"I don't think he's too busy, just doing some paperwork like always. I'm sure he won't mind if you disturb him," Kinomoto said with a smile.

"Thank you," Rukia said and headed down the long hallway to his office.

Byakuya's fukutaichou was polite and nice, the perfect fukutaichou for him. Rukia didn't know all that much about Kinomoto, but she had always found her to be exceedingly courteous. Rukia was glad that Byakuya had someone like that to help him out with his duties as Taichou.

Rukia knocked her hand on the door and smiled when she heard Byakuya's voice: "Who is it?"

"Rukia," she answered.

"Come in," he said, so she slid the door open and entered. He smiled at her and she was glad that he was happy to see her. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Rukia blushed as she always did when Byakuya flirted at her in his own subtle way. "Ukitake-taichou told me to leave early, so I thought I would come see you before I went to the Shiba house."

"Come here," he beckoned and Rukia moved closer to him, but not close enough it seemed because he pulled her to him and bent his head down – tracing her lips with his tongue before really kissing her. "Good afternoon," he said and she laughed.

Yes, it truly was a good afternoon.

-

**A/N: **This chapter was a bit of a change of pace. Hopefully, it didn't bore you and that you enjoyed it. I'm curious to know what you think of the story and how it's going so far. The timeline of the story seems to have slowed down quite a bit for the last several chapters. I'm not really sure when it'll speed up, but we'll see. I'm currently in the middle of exams right now, but I still have one more completed chapter to release before I'm out and another one that's half complete which I'll likely finish at the end of exams… unless I happen to procrastinate. ^_^;;

Thank you for all your reviews, they mean so much to me, especially when I'm going through such a crappy two weeks of studying and exams. I'll release the next one sometime next week when I can find a spare moment!

Released: 12/12/08


	16. Sinking to the Bottom

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Fifteen**  
_Sinking to the Bottom_

It was pleasant sitting next to Rukia, doing his paperwork as she rambled on about how the new recruits were finally starting to show promise. Her voice was a little husky and Byakuya's mind drifted off, wondering how she would sound in bed. He allowed himself to linger for only a moment before quelling the thought. His desires were perfectly normal, but not quite appropriate in his office in the broad daylight.

"Byakuya," she said and he looked up at her, "Ukitake-taichou wants me to lead the new recruits on their first group mission. I don't know if I'm strong enough to protect them. I really wish I had my second dance down…"

He had to take a slow, steadying breath before he could say anything. Byakuya was not pleased that Jushiro was putting Rukia into a position of responsibility when she was an unseated shinigami. He understood what she was asking him, she wanted him to help her prepare, to help her be good enough to complete this assigned task without failing her taichou.

And he wanted to protect her against all dangers, which he was beginning to realize that he couldn't, not when she was so determined to be a good shinigami. As long as she wasn't a seated officer, she would be relatively safe and Jushiro had kept his promise to keep her unseated. The only thing more Byakuya could do to shelter her more would be to train her well enough that she could handle any situation by herself, which invariably meant improving her skills.

"It won't be easy," he remarked, rubbing her hand with his fingers, "but I will make time and help you as best I can."

Rukia smiled and it brightened her whole face, all the way to her eyes. "Thank you."

That smile, Byakuya thought, that smile was worth doing anything for.

-

"He's out back!" Kukaku shouted from wherever she was in the house, which wasn't small by any means. Size-wise, though, it couldn't compare to the sprawling Kuchiki mansion.

It was still a more than respectable house for a noble. Rukia had been surprised when she had first seen where Kaien had grown up. He never acted like a noble and so even though the Shiba house looked slightly rundown, Rukia could see how once this famly was one of the great noble houses.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Kukaku asked loudly, now standing right in front of Rukia with her hands on her hips

Kukaku was rather intimidating and resembled Kaien quite a bit, although more loud and rough than her older brother was. What Rukia wouldn't give to see Kaien be his loud and charismatic self again!

"How is he?" Rukia asked softly.

"The same," Kukaku responded. "The same as always."

"I guess I'll go back and see him then."

She nodded and as Rukia was walking to courtyard in the back, Kukaku said, "It's been good for him, you coming to see him."

"I'm his friend and that's what friends do," Rukia said, looking back over her shoulder. "And I'll keep coming until he's better."

Kukaku didn't say anything, instead she just disappeared to some other section of the house and Rukia was left on her own to find Kaien. It didn't take her very long. He was sitting outside by a pond, throwing stones into it as if he were a child again trying to see who could toss it the farthest.

"Ukitake-taichou told me he visited you recently," Rukia remarked as she sat down beside him.

"Last week," Kaien responded.

"You didn't tell me about that."

"I don't have to tell you about everything."

Rukia glanced out at the small courtyard, which was lovely in its own rustic way. "We miss you back at Squad 13, especially the new recruits."

"Why would they?" Kaien asked. "They don't even know me."

"They know _of_ you," she said. "And they know what a great fukutaichou you are."

"Did Ukitake-taichou ask you to talk to me?" Kaien looked at her with his penetrating eyes. "About returning to the squad?"

She nodded, not bothering to deny it. "Would you rather we spar instead and just pretend like everything's normal when it's not?"

"You don't understand!"

Rukia clenched his fist, knowing that he was more right than wrong. She didn't know what it was like to lose a beloved wife, but she knew how it would feel to her if she lost Byakuya. She would be torn up inside and she would mourn and probably do all the things Kaien was doing to himself – she also knew that Byakuya would not have liked it at all. He never did express his feelings that avidly, but she knew enough to know that what he wanted most was for her to be happy.

"You're not the Kaien-dono I know," Rukia finally said. "The Kaien-dono I know wouldn't just give up on life, just because something devastating and difficult has happened. The Kaien-dono I know would fight back and live not because Miyako would want him to be happy, but because that's the way he is."

Kaien threw a rock and another into the pond where they sunk quickly to the bottom. "I'm not that man anymore," he said softly. "I miss her so much, Rukia. I think I should have let that Hollow kill me along with her, then at least I wouldn't have to live without her."

Rukia didn't know what to say after that, so she sat there with Kaien tossing rocks into the pond in silent companionship.

-

**A/N: **Quick update because I wrote more than I thought I would after my Thursday exam. I probably won't be writing too much more since I have 4 exams coming up this week, but enjoy this chapter. Releases should be every 2 or 3 days, as I have two chapters to release that are complete! I hope you liked the Kaien/Rukia chapter. It was kind of difficult to write since it seemed after every sentence, I had to make sure if it fit together right and in the end, I decided it would be like this -- no real resolution, kind of like life. As for Byakuya/Rukia, it's going slowly b/c this is a proper courtship and I think Byakuya would be a stickler for it. As it is, they're living in the same house -- rather scandalous, don't you think?

To encourage reviewing ^_^, I'll be sending a special omake that's rated R for sensitive material (hehe) to the reviewers that will review this chapter. I just need some cheering up because exams are such a drag and reviews make me happy. So you guys get something and I get something. Win-win situation!

_Basically, to receive the omake entitled "The Dirty Mind of Kuchiki Byakuya", you need to review (quick and simple)! Please include your email, if you can (especially if you aren't registered), make sure you put symbols and stuff into it so it'll show up (check to make sure your correct email shows up). If you're a registered reviewer and you have your email on your profile, just let me know so I can look it up there if you don't want to put it on the review page_!

Released: 12/13/08


	17. Long Lost Memories

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Sixteen**  
_Long Lost Memories_

Something always had to come up at work just when Byakuya thought he'd be able to leave for home early. He sighed as he finally set his brush down and adjusted his haori. Rukia had likely eaten her dinner hours ago and it was too late to help her practice her shikai release. Perhaps, he could still tempt her with a late night stroll around the gardens.

Byakuya stacked his paperwork neatly away in his desk then left his work behind for something far more enjoyable at home. His shunpo back was quicker than normal, probably because he was eager to get home to see Rukia. He expected her to be in her room, getting ready for bed that he almost passed her lying on her back staring up into the sky.

"What do you see?" he asked, moving to stand in her line of view.

"Byakuya!" Rukia exclaimed, getting to her feet quickly. She looked like she was going to greet him with a kiss, but she pulled back at the last second. "You're back," she said happily, standing with her hands tucked behind her back, looking so innocent and sweet.

She was still shy about the concept of _them_, but at least she was comfortable enough to show how happy she was to see him. That was all he could ask for now, no matter how much he wanted her to express more of his affection. How could he ask that of her when he himself was so reticent?

"Are you tired?" he asked, standing so close to her that he imagined he could feel the heat radiating off from her body.

Rukia shook her head. "No, not really."

"Walk with me?"

She took his hand and her hand was cool to his touch. He instinctively tightened his fingers around her, wanting to warm her up. They walked in companionable silence for a while as Byakuya enjoying her calming company and thinking about how pleasant the last few weeks had been.

"Can I ask you something?" her voice was hesitant and unsure.

"What is it?"

"When your wife died…" her voice grew softer and trailed off. "How did you feel?"

Byakuya didn't like to think about how he felt after Hisana had passed away. The memories were displeasing, especially when he was the happiest he felt like he had ever been in his life. Maybe because he knew that while he had loved Hisana in his own way – she did not fit into his world like Rukia did.

It was not necessarily that he loved Hisana any less; she just had another place in his heart that he had stored away. Hisana was the past and Rukia was the present. Byakuya stared down at Rukia, thinking about how there was something special about her and her sister… they both made him want to smile wholeheartedly.

"It was hard," he began, "and it took a long time for me to get over her passing, but I did." He paused and reached up with his free hand and stroked her cheek. "Why do you ask?"

"Did you take an extended leave of absence from your duties?"

Byakuya searched Rukia's eyes, wondering where she was going with her questions. He didn't know for sure, but he knew from her expression that it was important that he respond. "A week."

"Did you – did you love her?"

He almost didn't want to answer her and yet he found himself saying, "Of course."

Byakuya wanted to know what was going on. He didn't like the contemplative look on her face, especially when she didn't look happy anymore like when he had first arrived back and she had leapt to her feet to greet him. He wondered if she was jealous of Hisana. She didn't have any need to be.

He loved her as much as Hisana and he had the feeling he would end up loving Rukia more than her sister in the end. Rukia and he had more in common and yet were different enough that everyday he spent with her was a fascinating new day in which to learn more about her. He had to thank Hisana for Rukia and he prayed that she understood Rukia wasn't replacing her. Hisana would always be his first love and Rukia… well, she might be the love of his life.

"I don't know what to do," Rukia confessed as Byakuya pulled her into his arms. "I don't know how to help Shiba-fukutaicho. He's grieving over his wife and I'm helpless. Ukitake-taichou told me to convince him to return to the squad, but I don't think I can do that." She looked up at him with her hopeful eyes. "What do I do?"

He didn't know what to tell her. All of what she had asked suddenly made sense. She had been trying to figure out if his past experience might give her a clue on how to help Shiba. Byakuya could understand what Shiba was going through, but not as fully as he might have in the past.

His feelings for Hisana had numbed with time and now that he had someone like Rukia in his life, he realized how much life was worth the conflict and pain. What Shiba needed was to find something worth living for. That wasn't going to be easy. Byakuya had his grandfather, who he respected and love tell him that his wife might be dead, but he still had his honor and his responsibilities.

That had kept him going in his stoic existence until Rukia had touched the emotional part of him again, bringing it to the surface once more. Byakuya didn't know if his grandfather meant that honor and responsibility was all that was worth living for or if that was what Ginrei had to keep him going until he met someone special that made life more of a joy than a struggle.

"It will take time," Byakuya said, "but time will dull the pain."

"Will it?" she murmured, leaned into his embrace, pressing her face against his chest. "I think if I were him and I lost you…"

It was a thought he didn't want to think about either, about losing Rukia, not when he had just found her and happiness. He tightened his arms around her, vowing that he would never let her go. Never.

"Hush," he said. "Hush."

-

**A/N: **Several of you guys wanted more Byakuya, hopefully this satisfies your craving? Oh and please review, that would really cheer me up after I failed my Physical Diagnosis exam. Hopefully, the rest of my exams will go better. ^_^;;

Don't worry the next two chapters are longer!

Released: 12/15/08


	18. A Dividing Wall

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Seventeen**  
_A Dividing Wall  
_

"I thought you were going to bring Rukia with you," Momo said, her bright black eyes shining in good nature.

Renji sat down opposite of Momo at the table and put his arms on the table, slumping forward. "Where's Izuru?"

Just as he mentioned Izuru's name, Renji saw him out of the corner of his eyes putting a big sake bottle in the middle of the table. "Right behind you," he said. "So where's Rukia?"

Renji groaned and buried his face in his arms. "I haven't asked her yet."

"You know you've had a crush on her for years," Momo remarked. "I'm surprised it's taken you this long to even think about asking her."

"I'm not surprised," Izuru said. "He might be impulsive a lot of the times, but he's being extra careful here."

"Why would he need to be careful?"

"How would you feel if you confessed your feelings to someone and got rejected?"

"Oh," she said and patted Renji on the shoulder. "I'm sure you don't have to worry about that. I'm sure Rukia likes you too."

Renji lifted his head up and glared at both of his friends. "You two are no help at all."

"How long have you liked her?" Izuru asked. "Before you went to the Shinigami Academy, right? And it's been years since then… I understand you wanting to be sure, but don't you think you should tell her how you feel?"

Renji shrugged.

"I think you should have told her before we graduated," Izuru continued. "Now you hardly ever see her and that just makes things harder."

"I agree with him," Momo said, looking meaningfully at Izuru.

They both looked at Renji and he swore it was a conspiracy. "Fine, fine, I'll ask her!"

"And by ask her, you mean you'll ask her out, right?" Momo added with a deceptively innocent voice.

Renji ignored Momo and poured himself a very full cup of sake, which he quickly downed. He then poured himself another and did the same. He was going for a third when Izuru took the sake bottle from him and poured all three of their cups with a generous helping.

Izuru held up his sake cup and Momo quickly followed his example. "To Renji," he said, "may it all go well."

Renji lifted his cup up as well. He'd drink to that.

-

Rukia was waiting impatiently outside a rundown restaurant in one of the worse districts of Rukongai for Renji. While the udon was awfully good here, it was not a place a Kuchiki would go to eat lunch – no matter if it was a casual meeting between friends. She didn't know what Renji was thinking, asking to meet her at a place like this. Rukia sighed, no matter how long she'd known him, Renji would always be Renji.

"Sorry I'm late!" Renji exclaimed, running at full speed to her. "Ikkaku had to give me a shitload of work before he'd let me take a lunch break."

Rukia had heard of the 3rd seat of Squad 11. Supposedly, he was extremely talented at zanjutsu and was a lot like his Taichou in relishing battle. All Rukia knew about Zaraki-taichou was that he was always looking for a good fight.

"How long were you waiting?"

"Not too long," Rukia responded.

"That's good."

They stood there, looking at each other, in awkward silence before she asked, "So why this urgent need to see me?"

Renji turned away, but not before Rukia saw that his face had turned a little pink. She was really curious now why he had insisted they had to meet today for lunch. While it wasn't necessary inconvenient for her, she had been planning on eating with Byakuya. It was slightly disappointing that she couldn't, but Renji didn't usually insist so strongly as he had this morning about anything.

"Well?"

Renji turned to face the restaurant, folding his arms across his chest. "Do you remember when we were growing up? How it was in Rukongai?"

"Of course."

"Do you remember how we used to run by this udon shop when we were trying to escape the grocer and how it would smell so good? I remember how much we used to want to eat here and when we finally had some money, we would eat here weekly and it was as good as we thought it would be."

Rukia nodded, not sure where he was going with this.

"We haven't eaten here since we entered the Shinigami Academy… I wonder if it's still as good."

"It smells just as good as it used to," Rukia remarked. "Did you just have a sudden urge to eat here? Is that why you insisted I have lunch with you?"

Renji didn't answer; instead he took her hand and dragged her into the shop. He found them seats near the back corner and he pushed her onto a stool. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "One beef udon and a shrimp tempura udon for her!"

"You still remember," Rukia said, smiling back at his grinning face. "I can't remember the last time I had udon…"

It had been a long while, she thought, because at the Kuchiki mansion the meals were formal, even breakfast, and when she was at Squad 13 she always had something cold and convenient. Rukia thanked the server when he brought them their udon and elbowed Renji to do the same.

"Thanks," he muttered, rubbing his side and glaring at her.

Rukia picked up her chopsticks, tapping them against the side of the bowl to align them before she dipped them into the udon. "I wonder if it'll be as good as I remember," she said aloud.

"It is," Renji mumbled with a full mouth.

He gave her a thumb's up and continued wolfing down his food in his typical manner. It had been so long since Rukia had seen him eat like that – she had forgotten how comical it could be. It was also appalling, but she had seen him eat like that too many to let it bother her Kuchiki sense of propriety.

Rukia dug into her udon, careful to eat politely, yet at the same time enjoying the delicious meal. It was as good as she remembered it being. She quickly ate the shrimp tempura before it became soggy and then helped herself to more of the udon. Maybe she could ask the cook to make her some udon for a late night snack or find a more reputable udon shop in a better district of Rukongai. It wasn't appropriate that she was eating here, but she didn't regret it.

It was nice going back to her roots to realize how far she had come and how blessed she was to have been adopted by the Kuchiki clan and become a shinigami all at once. She was extremely lucky. Rukia finished the last bite of her udon and found Renji staring at her.

"Was it good?" he asked.

"Very," she responded. "Thanks for asking me to lunch."

Renji nodded and set some money down on the table. Rukia reached into her robes for her money and Renji shook his head at her. "I've got you covered, the least I can do for dragging you out here at such short notice."

"I suppose I deserve that," Rukia said and put her money back into her pocket. "Thank you again."

Renji grinned at her, not unusual for him, but there was something in his eyes that she didn't recognize. She supposed it was because they didn't hang out together as much as they had in the Shinigami Academy and before that when they had been two Rukongai orphans.

"I'll walk you back," Renji said once they had left the udon shop.

"You don't have—"

"I want to," he insisted and Rukia relented.

They walked for a while, not talking, just enjoying each other's company until Renji abruptly stopped and grabbed her hand. Rukia noticed he was staring at her again and he was almost at the point of making her uncomfortable when he looked away.

"You look happy," he remarked.

"I am," she said, smiling because she couldn't help it. Thinking about why she was happy invariably made her think about her favorite person, Byakuya.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, why are you even asking?"

He shrugged and Rukia couldn't read his expression, which she could have in the past. She wondered what he wanted and if this was why he had asked her to lunch all of a sudden.

"Will you go out with me?" Renji blurted out.

Of all the things he could have asked, she hadn't thought it would be that. Too bad he was years too late. She had once had a crush on him, when they'd first entered the Shinigami Academy, but that had faded and even then he couldn't have compared to Byakuya.

"I can't," she began then paused because she didn't know the best way to phrase it. Rukia took a deep breath, thinking about how to broach the subject. With Renji, only the truth would due. She owed him that. "I'm seeing someone."

Renji looked startled. "Who?" he asked.

"I can't say."

"Can't or won't?" he persisted.

Rukia pulled her hand out of his grasp. "I'm seeing someone, let's just leave it at that."

Renji opened his mouth to say something and abruptly closed it a moment later. "Fine," he said. "Fine."

He walked off then, leaving her standing there watching him leave, wondering how to repair the rift in their friendship. Was such a thing even possible?

-

**A/N: **Byakuya is now a very happy man ^-^! I just decided to throw this in there to resolve the Renji/Rukia issue that had come up earlier in the fanfic and now that it's done with… don't you feel sorry for Renji? What'll happen when he learns that Rukia is with Byakuya? Of course, that won't be for a while! I was planning on releasing this for my birthday (12/17), but I was a little late. Sorry about that.

Not doing well at all on my exams… that means I'm going to have to work so hard next semester. *sad face*

Released: 12/18/08


	19. The Progression of Life

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Eighteen**  
_The Progression of Life_

Nothing ever it seemed went according to plan. Had it really a year since Miyako's death? Rukia stood at her sempai's grave with Kaien in the pouring rain, watching respectfully from a distance as he mourned the loss of his beloved wife. It was sad, having to see his continual pain, but he was getting better however slow and gradual it was. At least he had returned to Squad 13, though it had taken him nearly a year to take up the duties of a fukutaichou again.

Kaien stood up after praying at Miyako's stone marker and turned to Rukia. "Thank you," he said, "for everything that you've done in the past year. I appreciate it and I know that Miyako does too."

"I did what I thought was best," Rukia said softly. "I'm glad you're better now. Squad 13 needs its fukutaichou."

"It also needs a 3rd seat," he remarked, turning around to face her. "I'm recommending you to Ukitake-taichou for that position."

Rukia looked at him in astonishment. "What?"

"Don't look so surprised," he said. "It's something I should have done several months ago when I knew I wouldn't take up my duties as soon as I thought. You have basically acted as 3rd seat, taking on and training the new recruits and much more. You deserve this position, Rukia. There's one else in the squad that deserves it more."

"But I haven't even mastered my shikai release yet." She looked down at her zanpakuto, brushing her fingers over the hilt. "I'm hardly worthy of a seated position."

"Zaraki-taichou doesn't have bankai and he's a taichou," Kaien said. "Why must you have a complete shikai release for a seated position? I believe your combined zanjutsu and kido skills are superior to Kiyone's and Sentaro's." He put his hand on her shoulder. "I can see that you don't believe me, but I've already arranged for a qualification test because I knew you were going to be like this. I don't understand, why don't you have more confidence in your abilities?"

It wasn't necessarily that she didn't believe in herself or her abilities; it was just that seeing Byakuya practice in the forest at night when he thought she was sleeping, she could understand the gap in their power. She was never going to be as strong or as skilled as he was, no matter how hard or how long she practiced. It wasn't all about hard work – talent and reiatsu had a lot to do with it as well.

Neither had it helped that she hadn't been progressing that much with either kido or zanjutsu. She was too busy with her duties at Squad 13 that when she got home, she was too tired to take Byakuya up on his offer to help her with her shikai release. Of course, exhaustion wasn't the only reason she didn't want to practice. She didn't get to spend as much time with him as she wanted and she only had herself to blame.

Rukia had taken over more and more of the day-to-day running of Squad 13 when it became apparent to her that Kiyone and Sentaro weren't capable. At the same time, she hadn't wanted to hurt their feelings and had quietly undid their damage and redone it. She was fairly certain that only Ukitake-taichou had realized what she was doing.

Kaien had only been back to being fukutaichou for a month and she had gradually fallen back to her former role as an unseated shinigami, but it seemed that he had still noticed all the work she had done in his place. Rukia bit her lip and looked up at him.

"A test?"

"I thought you'd need verification that you really do belong as 3rd seat and so I've arranged for you to fight both Sentaro and Kiyone at once. If you hold your own, then nothing you can say will deny me from acknowledging you as the 3rd seat. And you will do your best," Kaien told her. "I know what your best is."

As overwhelmed as she was by the entire situation, Rukia could stop and be grateful for this moment. For once, she could hear and see the Kaien she knew and admired. "You sound like your old self," she said.

"I feel like my old self," he responded, grinning. "Now let's get back to Squad 13 so I can show off our new 3rd seat."

"I haven't fought Kiyone or Sentaro and there's no guarantee I'll be able to hold my own against them."

"You will," he said with full confidence. "I know you will."

-

Byakuya was mildly irritated, which was saying a lot, by the time he arrived at Jushiro's office. He was mainly put out by the fact that this urgent request was going to cost him precious time that he could be spending at Squad 6 finishing up his work so that he could actually get home at a decent hour to see Rukia. They had been far too busy of late, he thought, they hardly spent any time together anymore.

"Jushiro," he said as he knocked, "you requested my presence?"

Jushiro slid open the door and stepped out of his office. "Come with me," he said. "It's already started, but we haven't missed much."

Byakuya didn't move from where he was standing. "Where are we going?"

"To the main courtyard. There is something I want you to see."

Byakuya reluctantly followed his old friend to the courtyard where he recognized Rukia fighting two individuals that he recognized as two seated officers in Squad 13. He believed they were the co-4th seats, but he could be wrong. He didn't make a habit out of memorizing other squad's rosters.

"You brought me out for a practice session?" he inquired a little coldly, even though he was enjoying the way Rukia used shunpo to her advantage by making herself untouchable to their kido and zanjutsu.

"Rukia has improved greatly in the last year," Jushiro remarked.

Byakuya glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes, wondering at the familiarity of which Jushiro addressed Rukia. "I've helped trained her in Shiba-fukutaichou's absence."

"I've heard you've been training her for longer. Her shunpo is a lot like yours."

The two seated officers had both released their zanpakuto, although Rukia was still fighting them without and Byakuya pressed his lips firmly together when she narrowly avoided getting herself cut by the shorter one. This fight was far more serious than it needed to be for a training session.

"If you are trying to impress me with how you train your shinigami, then I must say I do not approve at this level of danger in practice."

"Do you remember the first conversation we had about Rukia?" Jushiro asked. "I told you that you could only hold her back for so long, well you can't hold her back anymore."

Byakuya turned to Jushiro. "What do you mean?"

"It is time that you recognize that Rukia is far beyond the skill and power of an unseated officer. I cannot keep her in that position anymore. She is too talented for that and I must recognize it."

"I won't allow it," Byakuya told him before he quickly looked back as he felt Rukia release her zanpakuto.

Sode no Shirayuki was always utterly beautiful in released form and Rukia shone wielding it. Byakuya now recognized why this fight was more serious and dangerous than a training session warranted. This was a test of qualification and if Rukia held her own against to co-4th seats then she deserved to be seated.

Unfortunately, Byakuya wasn't about to let that happen. It didn't matter if Rukia was good enough to be the 3rd seat. Jushiro should have realized this demonstration was useless. While it would be hard to override a senior Taichou's recommendation for seating, he was the head of the Kuchiki family and Yamamoto-sou-taichou would respect his decision.

He would not let Rukia come into any danger, if she hadn't already been in the Shinigami Academy, if she wasn't talented and powerful, he never would have let her become a shinigami either. He had promised Hisana to take care and protect her sister and now that she was so precious and dear to him – it had magnified honor with love.

"I am not asking you your permission," Jushiro said, looking forward at the fight. Rukia was holding her own very well against Kiyone and Sentaro. They were trying too, especially when they noticed he had arrived. "She belongs in the 3rd seat."

"And I won't allow it."

-

**A/N: **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. ^-^ Will Byakuya let Rukia become the 3rd seat in Squad 13 eventually or will he keep trying to protect? I have the next chapter partly written (thank goodness my horrible round of exams are over... *depressed* but at least it's over) and I'll update when I have a sufficient enough number of reviews! Better review a lot, so I write a lot before I do go on my Xmas trip where I doubt I'll be able to update for a week! Thanks so much for reading!

Released: 12/20/08


	20. The Third Seat

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Nineteen**  
_The Third Seat_

"Why have you not officially instated Rukia as the 3rd seat?" Kaien demanded as he entered Jushiro's office with impatience written on his face and apparent in his voice. "It's been a month!"

Jushiro looked up from his current research project that he was conducting with Shunsui on the surge of Menos Grande recently. The Hollow that had murdered Miyako had instigated this project and after having delved into it a bit, Jushiro had realized that something strange was going on. There were a far greater number of stronger Hollows when looking at old records than there had ever been before. Either it was a matter of simple evolution or something was brewing…

"My recommendation to promote Kuchiki to the 3rd seat was rejected by Yamamoto-sou-taichou."

Kaien looked surprised, which wasn't surprising considering he didn't know that Byakuya was actively blocking Rukia from a seated position. Jushiro didn't know how to convince Byakuya to back down from his stance or to persuade Genryusai-sensei to override Byakuya and allow Rukia to be seated. Neither option was going to be easy, though, considering both men were stubborn and insisted on following the rules to the letter.

"But—"

"Is Rukia upset?" Jushiro asked.

He had yet to speak to Rukia about why the seated position that had seemed pretty much sewn up was now being denied to her. It was going to be hard to explain to the rest of the squad, especially the newer recruits that had thrived under her guidance in Kaien's absence. They were very fond and loyal to her and they thought she deserved a seated position even more so than Kaien.

Unfortunately, Byakuya didn't see that. Jushiro understood why Byakuya didn't want Rukia to be in a seated position. Seated officers did undertake more difficult and dangerous missions than unseated ones. But the problem was Rukia was too good not to be seated. Jushiro sighed. He wasn't exactly sure how to approach Byakuya about the issue – if he could even approach him at all.

He could even promise not to give Rukia any missions that were possibly dangerous. He could keep that promise, since Rukia was an excellent mentor and she might be best utilized in that way. She'd be stepping into Miyako's shoes and that was a position that Jushiro never thought would be filled. Rukia certainly did things differently, but both she and Miyako were wonderful at inspiring the new recruits.

"I don't know," Kaien replied honestly. "She hasn't said a word."

"I see." Jushiro looked out his window where he caught sight of Rukia once again training the new recruits in the main courtyard. "When she has time, please tell her to come see me."

Kaien nodded, but didn't make any motion to leave. "Ukitake-taichou, you've always been fair and just. Rukia has deserved a seated position for a long time simply based on her kido caliber skills, even with her subpar zanjutsu. Now that she excels at shunpo… her zanjutsu is quite above average. How can she remain unseated with such talent? It would be folly."

Jushiro said nothing to that. What could he say that Kaien hadn't said? He thought Rukia deserved to be 3rd seat and it was a pity he hadn't been able to convince Byakuya that she was quite capable of keeping herself protected even if she was sent on those missions.

"Don't forget to tell Rukia to come see me," Jushiro reminded as he bent over to do his paperwork, effectively dismissing Kaien.

-

Kaien wasn't happy at all as he left Ukitake-taichou's office and sped over to the courtyard where he could survey Rukia training the newer shinigami amongst them. They had improved greatly with her tutelage and soon he would organize a mission for them to the real world to test their skills against minor Hollows with Rukia as their commanding officer. He would like to do that as her first mission as _3__rd__ seat_, but that didn't look like it would be happening anytime soon.

He balled his hand into a fist and tried to control the frustration he felt at the situation. Rukia was like a sister to him and he felt like she wasn't getting what she rightfully deserved – and he couldn't do anything about the situation.

"Kuchiki!" Kaien called, signaling for her to come to him. He watched her apologize to the others before breaking away from them.

"Is there something you needed, Kaien-dono?" Rukia asked.

"May I speak to you for a moment, if you can spare it?"

"Of course," she answered with a bright smile and turned back to the group she'd been training to say, "I'll be back in a bit!"

Kaien led her off to a more private area where they wouldn't be overheard. "I had a talk with Ukitake-taichou."

"About what?"

"About you."

Rukia looked up. "Why?"

"I was wondering why you haven't been formally acknowledged yet as the 3rd seat."

"What did he say?"

"He said that his recommendation had been rejected by Yamamoto-sou-taichou." Kaien studied Rukia's face carefully, wondering at how she would react. "I don't understand why. You passed the test of qualifications, what other objections could he have? I've never heard of Yamamoto-sou-taichou interfering before with a Taichou's recommendation. I mean, you are being promoted to a high seat fairly early, but Kira and Hinamori are already lieutenants!"

"They were in the advanced class—"

"Regardless!" Kaien exclaimed. "You are as worthy of your position as they are of theirs."

"Maybe Yamamoto-sou-taichou has a good reason," Rukia said. Her expression was bland and Kaien couldn't read what she was thinking or feeling. "Besides, there's nothing we can do about the situation. Just let it go, Kaien-dono."

"Rukia…"

"Is there anything else you wanted to discuss?"

Kaien was frustrated at the entire situation. There was little chance he could keep bothering Ukitake to do something about Yamamoto's rejection when Rukia didn't even seem bothered by it. Why was she not at least as annoyed at the injustice of this as he was?

"Does it not bother you?" he asked bluntly. "The injustice of this? You deserve this position."

"Of course, it does," Rukia responded. "But what can we do? Yamamoto-sou-taichou's decision is not something we can go against. Maybe it's too early and really I'm fine with being an unseated officer."

"Rukia…"

"If there's nothing else you need, I'll head back."

Kaien watched her turn around to walk back to the main courtyard, but he put his hand on her shoulder to stop her. "There is one more thing."

She looked over her shoulder at him. "Yes?"

"Ukitake-taichou wants to speak with you."

"I'll go see him now," she said. She started walking in the direction of Ukitake's office, but suddenly stopped and whirled around. "Thank you, Kaien-dono, for always supporting me."

Kaien smiled back at her. "I'm very proud of you, you know."

"I know."

-

Rukia wondered what Ukitake-taichou would want to talk about and wondered if it had to do with the group mission that was coming up with the new recruits. The first one had had gone well and she hadn't been as confident with her second dance as she now was. She had even gotten Sode no Shirayuki's approval to learn the third and final dance of her shikai release. She doubted this new dance would be mastered any time soon, but she was glad she was finally making some more progress.

"Ukitake-taichou?"

"Come in, Rukia," he said.

She entered into his bright, well-organized office and took a respectful seat on the cushion in front of his desk. She noticed that once again he had a large stack of paperwork. "Are you working on another project?"

"Yes, it's about Hollows," Ukitake responded. "There's been a recent surge of Menos Grande and I'm looking into that."

"That's good," she said because she didn't really know how else to respond. She didn't have the camaraderie that Kaien and Ukitake shared, but they had spent years and years together. One day, she hoped to be as comfortable with her Taichou as she was with her Fukutaichou. "Kaien-dono said you asked to see me?"

"Kaien probably has already told you about the fact Yamamoto-sou-taichou has declined my recommendation for you to be the 3rd seat of Squad 13. I was wondering how you felt about it."

"Disappointed," Rukia replied honestly, "but not too surprised. I am still rather inexperienced to be granted such a high seat."

Ukitake looked at her, actually staring at her in a thoughtful way that if it had been anyone else she might have thought it an unkind look, but not with her Taichou. Rukia glanced away, though, not able to meet his gaze.

"I have not given up yet," Ukitake stated. "I'm sure Yamamoto-sou-taichou will eventually come around."

Rukia nodded. "When he does, I'll be glad to be your 3rd seat."

"And I'll be glad to have you as such."

-

**A/N: **I'm sure a lot of you will be disappointed b/c (1) there's no Byakuya and (2) there's no Byakuya/Rukia confrontation about 3rd seat. I hope you understand my explanation of things… that no one really goes against Yamamoto-sou-taichou, since he is the Sou-taichou! Anyway, I hope you still enjoy this chapter and please review and maybe I'll get up one, even two chapters before I head to DC for Christmas! Thanks again for reading and please, please review!

Released: 12/22/08


	21. Leading the Way

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Twenty**  
_Leading the Way_

Despite her disappointed in not becoming a seated officer – mainly because she wanted Byakuya to be proud of her – Rukia was satisfied that she was becoming a real member of Squad 13. She surveyed the ten shinigami that were under her command for their first group mission, which coincidentally was also her first mission as a leader as well. She was confident that she would be able to easily protect the shinigami that would look to her if things got out of hand.

"Kuchiki-san," a young male shinigami began, "everyone is accounted for and ready."

"Then let's set off then," Rukia said, giving them the signal to follow her as they headed off on their mission.

She kept them on a steady, fast pace, but nowhere near as quick as the shunpo she had grown accustomed to using. It seemed to take forever to get to the location where some low level Hollows had been spotted. Her duty as their group leader was to stay back and survey them as they worked as a group to fight the Hollows. She would only interfere if they were in danger.

Rukia held up her hand when she felt the low reiatsu of several Hollows, a bit more than she would have liked. She waited until everyone behind her came to a stop. She looked around the forest at all directions before setting off in the one where she felt the _least _powerful and _lowest_ number of Hollows. She wanted to start them off easy, to build their confidence and to make them finally feel like real shinigamis.

-

Byakuya was slightly nervous as he sat in his office, knowing that Rukia was commanding her first mission as a group leader. He thought it rather preposterous that she was a leader when she wasn't even a seated officer, but he couldn't protest this responsibility since it was quite clear that Rukia was strong enough to protect newly minted shinigamis on their first mission.

Yamamoto had reluctantly agreed with him that to allow Rukia to become a seated officer was dangerous, especially since she had not mastered her shikai yet. Byakuya wasn't sure if he would be able to block Rukia from a seated position if she fully mastered her shikai and began in earnest learning bankai. If she did that, she would be at a fukutaichou's level, much less a 3rd seat's. Luckily, he thought, there was no free fukutaichou position available.

Byakuya admitted he was worried, but it was a mission for _new recruits_ and it was highly unlikely that Rukia would even have to interfere to come to their defense. There was a little doubt in the back of his mind, especially when he thought about her first solo mission. That was just a highly unusual, unpredictable situation where the Hollow had been strong and intelligent enough to hide his reiatsu.

"Kuchiki-taichou," Kinomoto said as she knocked on the door, "there is a messenger for you."

"Let him in," he said, wondering what this was about.

It was probably another paperwork assignment for him from Yamamoto for rejecting Jushiro's recommendation for Rukia to be promoted to the 3rd seat of Squad 13. Yamamoto could be quite wily and cunning, despite the fact that he never looked anything other than a calm and wise old man. Byakuya was going to pay for asking a favor from the Sou-taichou, but it was for the best.

Maybe, just maybe, when Rukia truly mastered her shikai and was working hard on her bankai – maybe then he could do as Jushiro had advised… stop holding her back.

"Kuchiki-sama?" the messenger said as he crouched on his hand and knees in front of the Head of the Kuchiki family. "Takahiro-sama has requested your presence at an important Elder meeting later on this evening after dinner if you will spare the time. I am to await your answer."

Byakuya had been hoping to spend the evening with Rukia, since she had been rather busy preparing for her first group mission that most of the little time spent together had been helping her practice her shikai. Life, he thought, was never going to slow down. They would just have to make time for each other.

And they would, he promised himself, after Rukia came back tonight and after this Elder meeting…

"I will be there," Byakuya said.

-

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" Rukia cried as she waved at the shinigamis under her to retreat behind her. She slashed the area with her sword and whispered, "Some no mai, tsukishiro!"

The Hollows that had been neatly surrounded by the formation she had quickly thought of had worked perfectly for her zanpakuto. It couldn't have gone better than this, she thought as she watched the five Hollows freeze to their foray into a peaceful death that would save them from being monsters anymore. She smiled at them encouragingly.

"Good job," she said.

"Thanks," a couple of them said.

"That was awesome!" one of the others said. "I didn't know your zanpakuto, Kuchiki-san, was an ice-type like Hitsugaya-taichou's!"

"How did you not know?" another one retorted. "Didn't you know that Kuchiki-san's zanpakuto is said to be the most beautiful and pure ice-type zanpakuto?"

Rukia blushed and turned away from her subordinates, thinking about when she had first heard it called that a few months ago when she had been practicing in what she thought was isolation. It seemed quite a few people had heard of her zanpakuto even though she wasn't a seated officer. Her zanpakuto was lovely she had to admit as it reverted back to its plainer form before she resheathed it.

"Let's head back!" Rukia shouted, gesturing at them to start making their way to Squad 13.

For their first group mission, it had been a lot tougher than Rukia remembered her first mission being. She remembered Ukitake had told her about how he was researching the surge of Menos Grande. She ought to tell him that it wasn't just Menos Grande, it was the smaller, weaker Hollows as well. It seemed everything was changing all of a sudden and it was strange.

Something was going on with the Hollows, but what exactly?

-

**A/N: **I hope the brief glance of Byakuya was enough to sate your appetite until the next chapters ^_^! I hope you're still enjoying the story as much as you always have. The action will be picking up shortly. There's going to be some changes in the timeline and I hope you like what I'm going to do with it!

Anyway, I'm going away on vacation this afternoon and I probably won't be able to write anymore until I come back (if I do, then of course you'll see another chapter!). Please review, it's food for the muse! Happy early Christmas!

Released: 12/24/08


	22. The Ultimatum

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Twenty-One**  
_The Ultimatum_

"Ukitake-taichou," Rukia said as she knelt down in front of him after having completed her first mission as a commanding officer, "the mission was a success and there were no casualties and only a few minor injuries, nothing that would require a visit to Squad 4."

"Very good," Ukitake remarked. "You have done well."

"Thank you."

"Is there anything else?" he inquired in a manner that made Rukia wonder how he knew that she had more to say than just a simple report that was expected.

It was like he could read her, even though she didn't think her face gave anything about how concern she had been during the mission. She had felt in her guts that something wasn't right before they had even encountered the Hollows and her intuition – her instinct had been correct.

"There were an abnormally large amount of Hollows, more than normal," Rukia reported. "I remembered you told me you were researching Menos Grande and how there seemed to be more of them then there had been before. I think it's the same with the lesser Hollows too. I'm not sure what all this means, though…"

"Neither am I," Ukitake finished for her in his encouraging voice. "Thank you for letting me know about this. That was extremely considerate of you."

"It's not a problem!" Rukia exclaimed, then suddenly dropping her gaze to the floor in embarrassment for blurting out like that.

It was something that Kaien would do to Ukitake, but she wasn't his fukutaichou. She was literally a nobody in the squad, despite the responsibilities that she had been entrusted with by her taichou.

"That's all I have to report," she said in a much more contained and respectful voice.

Ukitake smiled kindly at her. "I may be your taichou, Rukia, but that doesn't mean I'm not also your friend as well."

Rukia looked up, staring into Ukitake's grave and sincere eyes, stunned. It wasn't that she didn't want to be her taichou's friend, but she couldn't imagine Byakuya ever being _friends_ with his subordinates. She supposed that is where Ukitake and Byakuya differed. It wasn't a bad difference.

Byakuya commanded overwhelming respect and that was just the way he was – except with her. Rukia managed to hold back the blush that was threatening to creep onto her face. Ukitake was more approachable. It was an entirely different method and yet even though she knew this in the back of her mind, she still couldn't imagine being chummy with him the way Kaien was and Miyako had been.

But she could be friends with her taichou in her own way, especially when he was offering such friendship to her in such a kind, kind way. Rukia smiled back at him and nodded.

"Thank you, Ukitake-taichou."

Was it her imagination or did his smile get a little wider?

"Now go home, Rukia and get some rest. You and the rest deserve it after such a successful mission."

-

Byakuya took his time heading toward the main building that was in the center of Kuchiki lands because he didn't like Elder meetings, especially ones that were sudden and unexpected. The monthly meetings he was forced to attend as the Head of the Kuchiki clan was more than enough. Why he was being made to go to this particular meeting, he didn't understand. He was busy enough with his duties as Taichou of the 6th Squad.

When he arrived at the meeting location, several guards were waiting outside of the doors. They all went to their knees and bowed to him before two of them rose to their feet to open the double doors leading into the building. Byakuya walked past them and stood still at the foot of the entrance as all the Elders in the Great Hall turned around to look at him – _the Head of the Kuchiki Clan. _

Byakuya inclined his head to them as acknowledgement and they all bowed to him in respect, but not in subservience as the guards outside were. Byakuya waited until they had straightened up before proceeding down the center walkway to his customary spot at the very forefront of the hall, where Takahiro, the Head Elder was waiting for him.

"Good evening, Kuchiki-sama," Takahiro said before his eyes flickered to the elders gathered before them. "Let the meeting begin."

Byakuya sat at the chiseled rosewood chair that had been where his grandfather, his great-grandfather, and his forefathers before them had sat in these incessant meetings. He kept his face blank, stoic, so that they wouldn't know how utterly bored he was. He was glad that his duties as a Taichou in the Gotei 13 were not as tedious as this. Indeed, they were marvelously enjoyable compared to these meetings. Maybe because they felt more important and he felt like he was needed.

He didn't have to be here for these meetings – not when he was just a bystander to listen to them prattle without an opinion to vocalize. Too bad this was tradition and duty, things he had been taught to uphold by Ginrei.

"I would like to bring up an issue," one of the elders said. "It is in regard to Kuchiki Rukia."

At the mention of her name, Byakuya's attention was seized. Byakuya focused in on this particular elder, recognizing his face vaguely, but he didn't really know the man. What was the issue with Rukia? Was this why Takahiro had demanded he attend this meeting? Did he know? Did they know?

"What about her?" Byakuya said, the first time he had ever spoken in a meeting without being addressed directly. He typically didn't interefere with the elders' discussions.

The elder that had spoken looked up to meet his gaze directly. "It is time that she be engaged."

Byakuya quickly glanced sideways to Takahiro and caught something in the Head Elder's expression that made him think that he knew that this was going to happen. Before anyone could detect that Byakuya had looked away from the elder, his gaze had returned.

"Rukia-sama," Byakuya remarked, "is quite young."

"To be married, perhaps," the elder conceded, "but hardly for an engagement or even an understanding. We are even late to consider something like that, for someone of such a high status as Kuchiki Rukia is, being a daughter of one of the Four Great Noble Clans. Some are affianced since infancy and most in childhood. It would be a dishonor if she is not engaged by the time she has reached adulthood and some would say she already has since she is a full-fledge shinigami. At the least, she is still young and a Kuchiki.

"I am certain she will marry very well despite the fact she doesn't carry a drop of Kuchiki blood, she _is_ adopted into our clan and carries the weight of our alliance. She is also a shinigami of some talent and certainly that will own make her a more attractive prospect. And she carries a significant dowry, as is only proper, and that combined with a connection to our family will make her irresistible."

Byakuya held back the insistent urge to clench his fist, to show any sign that this was not a conversation he wanted to listen or to partake in. What could he say without bringing his interest in Rukia to the forefront? She was _adopted_ into the clan; she was as good as his _sister_. Their relationship was incest, regardless of the blood connection. What he was doing went against everything he was taught… but he couldn't go back and he wouldn't.

"How can you be certain?" Byakuya inquired coldly. "As you have already mentioned, she was adopted into our clan, and as such is not truly a Kuchiki. I am sure no matter how you try to sell it, that fact will be hard to deny."

"It is fortunate then," Takahiro spoke softly, yet with that commanding voice that drew even Byakuya's attention immediately, "that those outside the Kuchiki clan do not agree with you and instead think Rukia-sama a fine prize."

"What?" Byakuya said in a voice louder and more surprised than he would have liked as he turned to glare at the Head Elder.

"There have been several offers already, despite the fact we have not officially even announced that she was eligible. It was leaked, as such things do occur when you have less than _adequate _servants, but it pleased me to know that once we do start searching for a husband for Rukia-sama – she will be well received."

"She is my sister," Byakuya said grimly, "I do not give my permission for her to be affianced, much less married."

"Your approval in this matter," Takahiro remarked, "is unnecessary. The Elders have more sway in upholding the clan honor and dignity and respect with decisions such as these and we unanimously agree that Kuchiki Rukia will be engaged now and married sometime in the future whether you agree or not."

-

**A/N: **Sorry for being gone for so long! I got caught up with the start of my 2nd semester of 2nd year and just feel overwhelmed (since I have to start studying for my Step 1 – which is the most important test of my med school career ^-^;;)! I probably won't be releasing as often, but please don't give up on this story! I'll write as much as I can whenever I can spare the time and when I have the inspiration. The reviews certainly help! I hope this chapter is enjoyable, I really did like writing this and this has been at the back of my mind since midway through the story. Thanks for reading and please review!

P.S. I plan on writing a fictional story that is kind of similar to the Bleach world (it's set in an alternate reality/wuxia-ish setting and also the present world with characters that fight with weapons like swords and other stuff), would anyone be interested in reading it and giving me feedback as I write it? It wouldn't be a fast write by any means (as I'll primarily be writing this fanfic), but just wondering if anyone's interested. If so, let me know in the review or shoot me an email.

Released: 1/17/2009


	23. Breakfast in Bed

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Twenty-two**  
_Breakfast in Bed_

To say he was furious would be an understatement, Byakuya was beyond anger and he was wondering why Takahiro – usually the reasonable Elder – was deciding to be unlike himself as Byakuya had ever seen him. Byakuya had waited through the rest of the meeting, listening to them discuss the qualifications that Rukia's future fiancé would need to have before they moved on to the things that they had the grounds to make decisions on like landscaping, building a new temple, or organizing better stipends for widows.

Then again, he should have known that this day would come, he thought as he stared out his window at the full moon. When he had arrived home, he had sensed Rukia's presence and he got the feeling she wanted to see and talk to him. And he would have enjoyed immensely spending time wit her, but he was too agitated by what had been discussed at the meeting that he had deliberately avoided her.

Rukia was asleep now and Byakuya was regretting the fact he had ignored her when it was obvious that seeing her, touching her, talking to her would have made him better than thinking about this incessant problem. And it was going to be a problem, Byakuya knew, a very big problem.

He didn't know what to do, not without coming forward about their relationship and he had a feeling that they wouldn't accept it – and it was going to be more of a battle than marrying Hisana had ever been. Because this time, it wasn't just him marrying a commoner – he would be _technically_ marrying his sister.

Byakuya clenched his fist and slammed it down on the table. What was he going to do?

-

The next morning, Byakuya woke up especially early and uncharacteristically went to the kitchens and sat there while he watched the cooks and their helpers prepare the lavished breakfast he had ordered especially for Rukia. Once they were done putting everything on the tray in a beautiful arrangement, Byakuya held out his hands to take it, knowing it would surprise them as much as it did himself that he wanted to do something subservient as _serving _Rukia her breakfast. He hadn't even done this for Hisana.

Byakuya paused outside of her bedroom, wondering if he was being overly sentimental and far too affectionate, but he wanted to do this and what was so wrong about that? Ginrei, his grandfather, had never been a demonstrative man and Byakuya had learned to follow his lead without ever thinking about if that was the way he wanted to be or not. Hisana, quite timid in some ways, had always freely showered her affections on him and he had liked that – no, he had loved it.

He slid the door open carefully, balancing the tray so that nothing spilled, and froze at the doorway when he saw that Rukia was awake and sitting on her bed in her sleeping robe, which was hardly the proper attire for him to see her in. He almost turned away to walk out, but she looked his way and he was trapped by her beautiful eyes.

"Byakuya…" she said and smiled.

It brought a small smile on his face to hear her say his name and to see _that_ _smile_ on her face, the smile that he only saw her give him. "Good morning," he said and stepped into her room. "I brought you breakfast."

Her eyes widened then and he felt warm inside at the pleasure he saw in her violet irises. "I had the cooks prepare all your favorites, or at least, what you particularly seem to like eating."

Rukia didn't look at the tray, her eyes were focused on him. "It's perfect," she said. "Thank you."

Byakuya nodded and set the tray on the bed. He stood there awkwardly, not really knowing if he should take the liberty and sit in her bed with her or if he should sit on the floor. He didn't know the protocol. Actually, there was no protocol because it was decidedly improper for him to be in a young woman's bedroom. He supposed it was okay because she was his sister… how ironic that the relationship that made their being together in the way he wanted was what made this moment acceptable.

Byakuya looked down when he felt Rukia's hand grab his. She tugged on it and let go, patting a spot on the bed next to her. "Sit down and eat with me. There's far too much for me alone."

It was far too much period of either of them to finish, but he had gone a bit overboard telling the cooks exactly what he wanted – probably because he needed everything to be perfect and when he was nervous he tended to overdo things.

"Do you ever dream?" Rukia asked in between the not-so-small bites of food she was eagerly eating.

Byakuya was having more fun watching her eat than eating himself. Maybe because her face was flushed with happiness and she was enjoying the food more than she ever had before.

"I dream at times."

"I had a pleasant dream last night," she said, sliding her eyes sideways to him.

How had it already been a year? It seemed like no time at all had passed, but a year was nothing in the lifespan of a shinigami. It was like a week for a human and yet it felt like he had been with Rukia for a very long time, even though he had been with Hisana for much, much longer.

"What did you dream of?" he inquired.

"Of you," she said softly, not looking down as he thought she would. Instead she leaned forward and he bent his head down instinctively and they kissed.

It was different than the sweet kisses they had shared before. Rukia wrapped her arms around his neck and he pushed her down onto her bed, covering her body with his own as he languidly kissed her lips, then let his lips trace a path down her cheek to her neck where he sucked on her soft flesh softly so he wouldn't leave a mark. He kissed up the same trail and kissed her lips one more time _passionately_ before he drew away, only to find that he couldn't back away when she pulled him back for one more kiss and one more kiss.

He didn't know how many kisses they shared that morning. He lost count and he was late to work, but that didn't matter.

Byakuya couldn't be bothered with any worries when he was so absurdly happy.

-

**A/N: **_Now I need some help from you guys, who do you think Rukia should be "engaged to marry" and why? I'm interested in hearing what you guys think! Thanks!_

I'd really really appreciate if more of you would review. I hope you enjoyed this "fluffy" chapter. We don't seem to have too many of them and I think it's good for the development of their relationship. Although a year might seem a long time to you and me, I think it would hardly be anything to Byakuya (maybe more so for Rukia b/c she's younger).

P.S. The fictional story I'm planning on writing, I might end up turning into a Bleach-AU just so I can play around with the world for a bit. I'm not really sure, but I have handwritten some pages and it's been interesting to say the least. Those that PM and/or reviewed telling me they were interested I'll probably send you a little something soon so you can tell me how you like it or not. Thanks!

Released: 1/22/2009


	24. The Proposition

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Twenty-three**  
_The Proposition_

"Kuchiki-taichou," his Fukutaichou said as she peeked her head into his office, "there's an urgent message from Kuchiki Takahiro. The messenger said he didn't require a response and he just gave me the message…"

"Give it to me," Byakuya said.

Kinomoto slid the door open and quickly went to him and placed the letter into his hands. "If you need anything, please let me know."

"Of course, thank you, Kinomoto-san."

"You're welcome, Kuchiki-taichou."

She left him then and Byakuya stared at the letter he was holding with great apprehension as to what Takahiro was going to say in such a missive. It couldn't be good news. At best, it would say that they were considering a list of potential suitors. At worst, it would be a polite note informing him first of Rukia's fiancé before it was announced across the Seireitei.

Byakuya put the letter down on his desk and stared at it. He was not a coward. He faced every adversary with cold calculation and he knew this was coming and he knew what he was going to do. No matter what stage, at its best or at its worst, he was going to do everything in his power to keep Rukia where she belonged – by his side.

He tore over the seal and pulled out the letter. It said pretty much what he had expected. It was not the best possible scenario, but Rukia's fiancé hadn't been chosen either. The letter had informed him that there were several offers for Rukia's hand once it had become known through various channels that the Kuchiki clan was seeking a husband for her. Takahiro had suggested that he might want to come to his office to discuss which option would be best before it was presented to the Elders, since he seemed so interested in her marriage in the first place.

Byakuya crumbled the letter, knowing it would not need a response. Takahiro's office was always open to the Head of the Kuchiki clan and he would definitely go visit the Head Elder after his duties as Taichou of the 6th Squad were finished for the day.

Byakuya wondered what Takahiro wanted. It wasn't like the Kuchiki name could be made any more prominent with Rukia's marriage. They were one of the four great noble houses and they had never fallen from their high status, regardless of the thousands of years that had gone by. So what did Takahiro hope to gain?

-

"I knew you would come," Takahiro remarked, "I didn't know it would bring you so quickly though, Byakuya-sama. I never realized what high regard for Rukia-sama that you had."

"She is my late wife's only sister," Byakuya stated. "You well know the promise I made to my wife."

"To find her and protect her," Takahiro murmured. "Yes, I remember quite well those words, but marriage is hardly something you need to protect her from. Marriage would safeguard her for the rest of her life, if she were to marry a good, honorable man."

"She is well and safe within our family," Byakuya said coldly. "Who could better protect her than the Kuchiki clan?"

"I am not saying that she would be better protected elsewhere, but she is a woman and it is her duty to marry and to have children like all noblewomen."

"Rukia is first and foremost a shinigami. Her duty is to her squad and her Taichou."

"Rukia is _also_ a Kuchiki!" Takahiro exclaimed. "Since you have no inclination to marry, Byakuya-sama, and you have adopted her into the direct line of leadership in our clan, who else should we rely on for a possible heir? We are a noble and great clan, but we are an aging clan! We have no young children, no future. Rukia is young and she is a Kuchiki now, and her children—"

"Will take her husband's name," Byakuya said flatly. "Or have you forgotten that?"

"I have not forgotten," Takahiro responded, not looking the least bit cowed. "But a minor noble could be persuaded to give up his family name and to take ours and to raise their children within the Kuchiki clan."

"And who would be willing to do that?"

"There are several possibilities," Takahiro remarked. "Kira Izuru is one. He is also a promising shinigami—"

"He has no spine," Byakuya said.

"There is Shiba Kaien…"

"_He_ is still grieving for his wife."

"And there is already an offer from a most respected man within the Seireitei that even you could not possibly have any qualms against Ukitake Jushiro."

Byakuya stared at Takahiro, not even able to hide the slight widening of his eyes. _Ukitake Jushiro!_ What in the world was Jushiro doing, offering for Rukia like that? She was his subordinate and it was unthinkable for— Then again, Byakuya thought darkly, he had allowed Kaien to marry Miyako and Miyako had been Kaien's subordinate.

"He comes from an impoverished, low-class noble family and he is _much, much _older than Rukia."

"He is also one of the foremost Taichous within the Seireitei," Takahiro responded firmly. "And he has several brothers within his family to carry on his line. He also genuinely seems to care about Rukia and of all those that did offer for her, he was the best."

"Rukia is too young to marry, even if she did get an offer from Ukitake Jushiro," Byakuya said softly, looking directly into Takahiro's eyes. "You want an heir, do you not? And you have said I have no inclination to marry. Well, you're right. I have no inclination until now to marry, but you must kindly reject Ukitake's offer for Rukia and I will marry and provide you an heir to the Kuchiki clan."

-

**A/N: **Thanks to everyone that does review! I would really like it, if more of you would review, since it really does motivate me to write more and faster. There's about 65 people that have put this on their "watch" list and if half of you would review, that would be awesome! (I get about 250+ hits and only about 10-12 of you review now. I'm just wondering if my story is losing interest now b/c I was getting more review before Christmas…)

This chapter didn't go at all like I planned, but it came out like this so I'm going to let my muse dictate which direction I go. I hope you like it anyway!

Released: 1/25/2009


	25. A Terrible Sin

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Twenty-four**  
_A Terrible Sin_

"I don't need an explanation," Byakuya said as he walked into Jushiro's office without permission and unannounced. "I don't want to know why you offered for Rukia, but I am here to inform you that your offer has been declined."

Jushiro turned away from the window where he was watching the shinigami within his squad practicing under Rukia's lead. Even though he had been unable to promote Rukia to the 3rd seat that she deserved, he was giving her more responsibility anyway. Nothing dangerous of course, remembering quite well that Byakuya had specifically shown his concern. Jushiro glanced at the younger taichou. He was awfully protective of Rukia, slightly confounding when he never seemed to care or show any emotion before for anyone, much less his adopted sister.

"May I inquire why my offer was declined?" Jushiro asked, meeting the intensity of Byakuya's gaze head on.

He might not like confrontation, especially when a peaceful and agreeable mututal solution was always better in his mind – that didn't mean Jushiro was weak or bent to the will of others. He had allowed Byakuya to block the promotion of Rukia to the 3rd seat mainly because Byakuya was trying to protect her in his selfish way. That didn't mean Byakuya had any right to offer Rukia as a wife to any eligible man within the Seireitei without letting her know.

Jushiro knew she had no idea that her future was being decided right now. He had politely asked her to come in and chat with him about how her new duties were suiting her and he had offhandedly mentioned if she had any intention of marrying anytime soon and she had looked bewildered. She also had told him softly that she was too young at this time and that she supposed when it was in the hands of Byakuya-sama – whenever he decided that she should be married then she would be – which told Jushiro enough. She hadn't even been warned before her name had filtered to appropriate suitors through discreet means.

"Rukia is too young," Byakuya stated.

Jushiro lifted an eyebrow up in surprise. "I am in agreement."

"Then you should withdraw your offer."

Jushiro continued to stare into Byakuya's eyes, wondering at the new information and what that meant for current predicament. So Byakuya hadn't approved of Rukia being put up as a bride for any eligible noble husband. What exactly was going on then?

"Why were the Kuchiki elders seeking a husband for her if you do not think she is of age to marry yet?"

"The elders," Byakuya said softly and coldly, "believe it is their personal duty to ensure the succession of the Kuchiki line through whatever means possible. I am sure Takahiro-san informed you that the stipulation for you marrying Rukia was to forego your family name, is that correct?"

Jushiro inclined his head. "It was implied."

"And you were willing?"

"I have no idea who offered for her," Jushiro said. "There may have been better, nobler men who might have suited her better, but in the case that no one suitable stepped up that was willing to agree to that implication, I wanted to be sure that Rukia was well taken care of."

Byakuya narrowed his eyes before he averted them. "You care for her."

Jushiro wasn't exactly sure how to interpret Byakuya's suddenly looking and the tone of what he had said. There was something that was going on that he didn't understand between Byakuya and Rukia. What was it?

"I care for everyone in my squad," Jushiro remarked, looking down again at the courtyard where Rukia was helping a new recruit practice zanjutsu. "There are some I grow to know better and consequently, they come to have a special place in my heart."

Byakuya said nothing to that for a while, instead he moved to the window and from there they both watched Rukia practicing with the young recruit. Finally, Byakuya said, "I would appreciate it if you graciously withdraw your offer to the Kuchiki elders without stating why."

"Byakuya," Jushiro said as he heard Byakuya slide the door open to leave. Byakuya stood at the door, still. "May I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Do you care for Rukia?"

Jushiro turned to look at Byakuya and he was momentarily stunned by some indescribable emotion that he saw flicker across Byakuya's gray eyes before they disappeared beneath the stern, unreadable mask. "I do," Byakuya admitted in a hushed voice. "Good day, Jushiro."

"Good day," Jushiro echoed to the empty room.

His gaze return to the courtyard and Rukia as his mind wandered through the conversation he had just had with Byakuya. He didn't know what to make of it, but he decided that he would honor Byakuya's request and withdraw his offer for Rukia's hand in marriage. He only hoped that Byakuya wouldn't make him regret doing this, not when he was placing his faith in believing Byakuya's words.

-

He had absolutely no idea what he was doing. He had never felt more lost, more anxious in his life, even though he kept it all underneath a façade of indifference. Byakuya stood at his grandfather's grave and stared up at the dark sky. How was it he had been so happy a few days ago and now felt so distraught?

"Do you remember the promise I made years ago when I took Rukia into the family?"

The wind didn't – wouldn't answer.

Byakuya sighed. "I am afraid I may have to break it."

It went against everything that he had been taught, what he stood for – to break all such a law – to even consider it… _it was a sin to marry your own sister_.

-

**A/N: **To everyone that reviewed and gave me such sweet encouragement, you made my day and this is out superfast because of you guys! Okay, this was an extremely exhilarating chapter to write, and I just 3 Ukitake Jushiro! It made me want to write a little omake about Jushiro thinking of Rukia as a potential wife for himself (which didn't fit into the chapter), which I'll send to you via pm/email if you review!

Released: 1/27/2009


	26. Ripple the Surface

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Twenty-five**  
_Ripple the Surface_

Something strange was going on for the last week and Rukia was getting tired of feeling like Byakuya was avoiding her. It wasn't like he ran the other direction when he saw her, but somehow always manage to make an acceptable excuse to spend the least possible time with her. It had to do something with the Elder meeting he had attended recently. It had to be… Rukia bit her bottom lip. Had the Elders found out about them? They had been so very careful…

They acted like brother and sister whenever anyone else was around. She was so careful, not wanting this wonderful feeling of them being together to go away. She couldn't bear not being with Byakuya, not after having been with him. Of course, she knew eventually – sometime in the distance future – she would have to watch him marry a noble woman and to watch him have children with her… but she would accept that as long they were still together and that he swore the only one he loved was her.

Rukia knew she was a good person, but she wasn't generous enough to allow him to love someone else other than her – not while he loved her. What would it be like, she wondered, to watch him have a family and with her on the side, as his secret mistress? It would be horrible. It was bound to happen. She thought she could accept it, but could she really?

"Earth to Rukia!" Kaien exclaimed as he tapped his finger on her forehead.

Rukia flushed and looked up at her fukutaichou with an embarrassed smile for having been caught in her wandering thoughts. He smiled back at her and it wasn't the same carefree smile he used to have, but he looked far more content now than he had been that whole year after Miyako's tragic death.

"What do you want?" Rukia asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"Ukitake-taichou wants to see you," he remarked, "when you have the time."

Rukia had noticed that she was spending more and more time with Ukitake and receiving much more responsibilities than was appropriate for an unseated officer. Personally, she had never heard of an unseated officer being delegated the duties she oversaw. It was like she was the 3rd seat, even if she wasn't that officially. It didn't matter if she held that position or not; she truly loved what she could offer her squad in whatever capacity.

"Ukitake-taichou," she said as she knocked on the door, "it's Rukia."

"Please come in," Ukitake said, gesturing for her to come take a seat in front of his desk. "I didn't think sending Kaien to get you would lead to such a prompt appearance."

"I wasn't busy," Rukia explained, looking down at the woven floor mats thinking about how she had been pondering about the current situation with Byakuya.

"I don't know exactly how to say this… but I thought it best to inform you that the Kuchiki elders approach me about a possible marriage between you and I." Ukitake paused.

Rukia's eyes widened at what Ukitake was saying and it now was beginning to make sense why Byakuya was busy and avoiding her. He must not want anyone to find out about them and…

"No worries, it seems your brother has decided that you are too young to marry and he has asked that I withdraw my offer. I thought it best that you also know, considering the circumstance intimately involves you."

"Thank you," Rukia said softly. "Did nii-sama say anything about what he was going to do?"

"Of that, I do not know."

"Ukitake-taichou?"

"Yes, Rukia-san?"

She lifted her face up to look her taichou in the eye. "May I be excused early today?"

"You may."

-

Of all the people to burst into Byakuya's office unannounced, Rukia was not the person he expected to see at all. He expected Takahiro or one of his messengers or someone from the Kuchiki clan, but not Rukia – not the one he most wanted to see and hold. He had missed her a lot this week as he had thought about what he had to do to keep her by his side.

His resolve had not faltered, but he was aware of the upheaval his decision would cause and he wasn't certain the best way to approach it either. And seeing Rukia, talking to her, holding and kissing her, made him feel so utterly useless because he wasn't doing anything to protect what they had. He knew what he wanted and what he had to do, but he was still in stasis.

Byakuya instinctively reached out with his arms to pull Rukia to him, to hold her and to kiss her, but she dodged his arms. Instead she glared up at him and it was a look he had never seen on her face directed at him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked in a burst and a rush. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"What are you talking about?" Byakuya said, although he had a good idea what she was referring to… the question was how had she found out?

"Why did I have to hear it from Ukitake-taichou? Why couldn't you tell me yourself?" Her expression of anger had faded now into one of sadness and Byakuya decided right then he would rather have her be in a rage than to be sad.

"I didn't want you to have to worry about anything," he said softly, looking away from her before he did something that would be considered weak.

"Byakuya," she said, coming to him and wrapping her arms around his waist, leaning against his back, "I am here for you."

It had been so long since anyone had been there for him, not Hisana – she had relied on him. Who had he ever relied on? His grandfather, but never fully, not when he had been taught to be strong and noble and proud. He could never have shown vulnerability in front of Kuchiki Ginrei.

Byakuya turned around and held onto Rukia. "I wanted to resolve things without getting you involved, but the only way I could get them to back down on their wish to engage you to an eligible noble was to promise to marry and provide an heir. It was the only way to satisfy them."

"If you must, then—"

"Hush," Byakuya said, holding onto her only more tightly, "there is no one I can imagine being with other than you."

"Byakuya…"

"You are not my sister, Rukia. _You are not._"

"But—" Rukia protested, drawing away from him so that they could look into each other's eyes

"Let me finish."

She nodded.

"I have done some research," he began. "There is one instance where an adopted sibling within a noble clan did marry her brother. It has been done, so it is not impossible."

"But there will still be opposition, won't there?"

"Yes."

"Because," Rukia murmured, her eyes looking so beautiful to Byakuya, "that adopted sibling was originally noble, wasn't she?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure about this?" she asked.

"I am," he stated calmly, feeling the warmth of her in his arms. He gazed into her eyes, wondering if she knew the storm that was brewing, that they would have to suffer through to be together, would she be brave enough to survive fully intact? Maybe it was only cruel to put her through such turmoil. Hisana had never been the same afterwards…

"It will be hard, thoroughly difficult, but I am certain," he told her. "I don't want to put you through this, though, if you do not want it." He smiled sadly. "Our world will never be the same after this."

"I am afraid of that," Rukia admitted and he felt his heart constrict at her words. "But I am more afraid of not being with you."

-

**A/N: **How's the situation going so far? Any thoughts/ideas on what you'd like to happen? Thanks for all the encouraging reviews, this fast update is made possible by all your helpful insight! I hope to have this little 'arc' completed soon and we'll see where the story goes from there. Any suggestions would be lovely!

Released: 1/29/2009


	27. Resolve and Resolution

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Twenty-six**  
_Resolve and Resolution_

She wanted to be strong for him, but it was unnerving to face these many Elders from a great noble clan like the Kuchiki's. Byakuya looked down at her and squeezed the hand he held as he walked with her down the center toward his seat as the Head of Kuchiki Clan. Rukia found it hard to walk with the straight back and proper carriage that she had been taught by one of the old wise woman in the family when she had first been adopted, yet she somehow managed.

"_It will be okay. It will be okay," _Rukia repeated like a mantra the words Byakuya had said to her before they had entered into the grand hall. _It has to be, _she thought, glancing up at him.

"Kuchiki-sama," Takahiro began, "has agreed to marry a bride and provide an heir so long that Kuchiki Rukia's pending betrothal is voided. Do we the elders agree to such a proposition?"

"We agree!" the elders exclaimed.

"Now, Kuchiki-sama," Takahiro said, directing it to Byakuya, "you have the terms of agreement, it is only fair for us to ask whom your intended bride shall be."

"You may ask," Byakuya stated.

Rukia felt her chest tighten. She didn't like at all how formal everything was. The elders here, they couldn't possibly accept her as Byakuya's chosen bride. She was from the 78th district of Rukongai. They would remember this. Moreover, she was his sister. They wouldn't forget that.

"Which clan is your intended bride from?" Takahiro inquired.

Rukia closed her eyes, wondering why the Head Elder hadn't just come out straight and asked who Byakuya wished to marry. Why did he have to drag this out by asking which family she was from? Why not just ask her name? And then she could hear the elders deny their request and then she would steel herself or the inevitable confrontation and she would… she could fight against it with Byakuya.

"One of the four great noble clans," Byakuya responded.

"Which one?"

Byakuya looked at Rukia the same moment she looked at him. "I have asked and she has consented."

"Who is she?" Takahiro demanded, narrowing his eyes and looking at them with scrutinizing eyes.

"She stands beside me as she will stand beside for the rest of my life and hers, Kuchiki Rukia."

The hall was quiet, silent of all noise as all the elders stared at them. Rukia felt even more unnerved and yet she was resolved. Byakuya had asked her against last night if she was still certain and she was…

"_There is still time to change your mind," he murmured as he held her in his arms. _

_She looked up into his solemn, serious and yet so beautiful gray eyes. "Ask me." _

_He bent his head down until their foreheads were touching. "Will you, Kuchiki Rukia, marry me?" _

"_Yes," she said with all the love and determination she had in her voice. "Yes today and yes tomorrow, whatever it holds." _

"Absolutely not," Takahiro was the first to recover and to speak. "You are brother and sister, regardless of the fact Rukia was adopted into the Kuchiki clan. It is against the Laws, Kuchiki-sama, or have you forgotten that?"

"No," Rukia spoke, looking at Byakuya as she said this, "we have not, but as you said we are not true siblings. I am adopted."

"You are riffraff from the 78th district of Rukongai," Takahiro said coldly, "even if you were not adopted into the Kuchiki clan, do you think we would allow Kuchiki-sama to make the mistake of marrying below his station in life again?"

"It is my decision to make," Byakuya responded in an equally chilly voice. "We never put a stipulation as to who I could marry."

"I would have thought you would have made a suitable choice for the future heir of the Kuchiki clan!" Takahiro exclaimed fiercely. "You push the elders too far Kuchiki Byakuya. We allowed you to marry for love for once with your first wife. We allow you to adopt her sister from Rukongai into our noble clan to fulfill your obligations to her. Why would we allow you to marry your adopted sister and your late wife's sister? It is time you remembered your duty."

Rukia could only stare out into the space, unseeing. She heard what the Head elder had said, but she couldn't process it. She felt like she couldn't breath. She knew the situation was going to be bad, but she didn't think it was going to be shocking as well. Her sister was Byakuya's late wife?

How could that be possible? How could she even have a sister? She was an orphan in Rukongai… she had been alone on her own for as long as she could remember – until Renji.

Byakuya held onto her hand tightly and it hurt. If she hadn't wanted to make a scene, she would have shook her arm and told him to let go.

"Rukia has been part of the Kuchiki family for a number of years and yet you still do not see the merits she has brought to the clan, you only see where she comes from. Is being from a noble clan all that is important? Do you say it is insignificant that she is a talented shinigami from the 13th squad? Does it not matter that she has achieved a shikai release that is as powerful as it is beautiful? Do any of the things she has accomplished as Kuchiki Rukia mean anything?"

The man she loved had never told her that his late wife was her sister and yet she found that her love would not waver, especially when she heard how proud he was of her. It was a betrayal of sorts, she supposed, that he had never told her about her sister, but in a way it made everything make sense. Why else would she be adopted into such a noble clan for no significant reason?

"And though she may be the sister of my late wife, I am not marrying her because of that. I am not marrying her to save her from a betrothal to a man she may not know. I am marrying her…" his voice trailed off as he lowered his eyes to her. "I am marrying her because she is the most important person in my world and I love her."

It was the first time she had ever heard him say that he loved her and as she looked up into his eyes, she knew that he had a great deal of explaining to do to her, but as long as he loved her as much as she loved him – everything would be okay.

Takahiro sighed. "Duty and responsibility," he said, "has always been the most important things to us, but I will concede that love too is important." He looked at Rukia. "Forgive me my harsh words, I did not mean to imply that we are not proud of you. You may have once come from Rukongai, but you are through and through a Kuchiki and therein lies the problem. And that is why I cannot give my approval. By Law, you are siblings now and such a marriage is forbidden."

"Siblings have married before," Byakuya spoke. "They received a dispensation because one of the siblings was adopted. Should I attain such a dispensation and be exempt from the Law, will you allow the marriage?"

"Should you attain such a dispensation," Takahiro murmured, "it would not be against the Law."

"Then we can be together?" Rukia said softly. "With your approval?"

"When you provide an heir," Takahiro said, glancing back at the other elders, whom were all nodding in agreement, "then we shall approve."

-

**A/N: **Well I finally finished this chapter, which I did in one sitting. I don't know what I think about it, but what do you guys think? Thanks for those who did review, I really do appreciate it. I'm going to start an AU bleach story that for now will be without pairings, but I hope you read and enjoy it anyway when it comes out! I may also be starting a story about Rukia/Byakuya based in our world, just to do something different. Thanks for reading and hope you have a great weekend!

Released: 1/31/2009


	28. The First Wife

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Twenty-seven**  
_The First Wife_

"What was her name?" Rukia asked as they were walking back to their home.

"Hisana," he answered.

"Hisana," she repeated softly. "It's a beautiful name."

"Your sister was a beautiful person, you both are," he remarked, having thought carefully in the beginning when they had walked hand-in-hand in silence about what to say and how to tell her. "But you are not Hisana and she is not you. I know this. I meant every word I said back there. Your sister was the past, a good past, but that is over and I must move on. I am happy to say that knowing your sister and loving her led me to finding you and loving you. I do not think it is fair how lucky I have been in this."

"I think I am the lucky one," Rukia said and she leaned up against him on the tips of her toes and kissed him briefly on the lips. "But Byakuya?"

"Yes?" His arms were around her waist.

"Don't ever keep something like that from me again."

Byakuya nodded. "It was her request, you know, that you never know."

"Why?"

"She did not feel that she was worthy of being your sister because…" he sighed.

"Because of what?"

"Because she abandoned you in the human world because she could not care for you and that s how you came to Rukongai as a mere baby. Hisana never forgot about you and what she did. As soon as she was able to get herself out of Rukongai and become a shinigami, she started looking for you before I ever met her. She looked for you until the day she died, Rukia. She may have done something terrible, abandoning you like that, but she regretted for the rest of her life and beyond that one grave mistake – she was a very good person."

"It must have been hard to live with that," Rukia remarked, thinking about how Kaien's guilt had eaten him up when he had been forced to kill his wife, Miyako.

She never had personally experienced such a situation and she didn't now how she'd react to it – but at least she could be understanding and sympathetic. Still there was a little part of her that resented Hisana for abandoning her… she wouldn't have done what her sister had done to her.

"Yes," Byakuya murmured, "she had constant nightmares about how you would react if she did find you and told you. It is why she made me swear never to tell you." He paused. "She had more nightmares, though, of never finding you again."

"I don't know how I feel about her," Rukia remarked, "but I suppose I do have one thing to thank her for."

"What is that?"

She looked up at him, her hair in her face like it always had a tendency to be, and she smiled. "She gave me you."

-

The luncheon the servants had prepared for them on their return had been delicious, but Byakuya couldn't enjoy it because his stomach was churning with the stress of how to get the dispensation and how to interpret what Takahiro had said – _approving once an heir was provided. _

He had been lucky that Rukia had wanted to talk mostly about Hisana, to learn more about the sister she had never known she had. It was good that Rukia didn't ask about the dispensation or anything else. She believed everything was all right now and he wanted to let her believe that, but Byakuya was worried.

He was worried that he wouldn't be able to obtain the dispensation – it had to come from the King of the Soul Society – and he was worried that Rukia wouldn't be able to bear him a healthy heir. Hisana… she had never been able to carry any of her pregnancies to term, no matter how hard she had tried. It had worn her out, trying to provide him the heir that the Elders had wanted – that combined with her constant effort to find her sister… It had all been too much for her.

Rukia was stronger, he knew. She was a better shinigami than Hisana had ever been, far more talented than he had ever wanted. If she were like Hisana, she would retire once she was suitably married, but he didn't think Rukia would do that. It was hard enough keeping her out of a seated position and if she kept improving, he didn't think he could keep her from her rightful spot.

Byakuya sighed and stared at blank sheet of parchment that he would have to start filling out if he wanted to get the dispensation. He just wanted Rukia to be safe… keep her protected. He didn't want to lose Rukia like he had lost Hisana. In the end, it didn't matter if the Elders allowed them to be together, married or not, he would not have been with anyone except her. The only thing he wanted was to ensure they both had their freedom to be with each other.

He had severely underestimated Takahiro and what he wanted. Byakuya narrowed his eyes. He wondered why the Head Elder had conceded so easily to them being together. Of course, it had been Takahiro in the first place who had come to realize that Byakuya had been serious about marrying Hisana those many years ago. It had been Takahiro who had convinced the other elders to accept a girl from Rukongai as his wife. Byakuya had thought that Takahiro understood what love was… maybe Takahiro did understand, but it was likely just as possible that he had an agenda.

Was it really as simple as securing the future of the Kuchiki clan with an heir?

-

**A/N: **This hopefully ties up the loose ends from the previous chapter, and I definitely finished this earlier because of all the helpful encouragement. I'm not sure where to go from because there is nothing immediate that I need to do with the storyline. I might have to think on it, so the next update might take a little longer, but feel free to suggest away!

Released: 2/3/2009


	29. A Message Sent from Heaven

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Twenty-eight**  
_A Message Sent from Heaven_

Byakuya stared at the messenger, who held a very important piece of fate in his hands. In that message, it would decide whether or not Byakuya could be with Rukia and still follow the course of the Law. It had been a gut-wrenching week, a week where he had brushed off Rukia's questions about the dispensation – saying that he had already handled it and that everything would be all right.

The first part was true, the other part Byakuya wasn't as certain about. Such a situation had only occurred once before in the long history of the Soul Society, and for the first time Byakuya was _sincerely _glad he was part of one of the great noble clans, it made sending a request to the King of the Soul Society not seem so absolutely absurd.

"Kuchiki-taichou," the messenger said as he knelt on his knees and presented the missive to him with his outstretched arms, "the King of the Soul Society has sent this response back to your request and he does not require a reply from you."

Byakuya took the missive and his hand trembled once involuntarily as he said softly, "Thank you."

-

Rukia knew that Byakuya was keeping his worries about the situation to himself. She wished he would stop keeping his emotions bottled up like that, why couldn't he just trust her to be strong enough to handle whatever they had to face? It bothered her that he didn't feel like he could rely on her.

She didn't know who to talk to about this… it wasn't like anyone knew about their relationship, except for the elders. Even Ukitake-taichou, even though he knew that the elders were seeking a husband for her, he didn't know about their relationship. Would her Taichou approve of their relationship?

Ukitake was a righteous and honorable man, and technically they were going against the Law… at least until they received their dispensation – if they received. Rukia wasn't naïve. She knew it wasn't going to be easy, especially when they had to send a direct request to the King of the Soul Society.

She hadn't even known such a thing was possible—

"What is bothering you?" Ukitake asked as he came to stand beside her on the balcony that overlooked the training grounds.

"Ukitake-taichou!" Rukia exclaimed. "I… nothing is bothering me."

Ukitake didn't say anything to disagree with her, but he placed his arms on the railing and looked down at her. "How has your shikai progressed?"

"I have mastered my second dance," Rukia said. "I'm working on the third, but it's difficult. Sode no Shirayuki, well, he said that it takes a certain situation for me to be able to use it. I don't quite understand what he means."

"I'm sure you'll master it soon enough," Ukitake remarked. "You've made a lot of progress within the last year or so, and I wish… well I wish things weren't so hard on you."

Rukia looked at Ukitake in surprise. Was it possible that he knew about the situation that she and Byakuya were currently facing? No, he couldn't possibly know. It was a private, clan matter. He was likely referring to something else entirely.

"It hasn't been too difficult."

"Has it not?" Ukitake murmured. "You're very resilient, Rukia, I admire that."

Rukia could only stare at him with wide eyes.

Ukitake smiled. "Why are you so surprised? Can a Taichou not say a kind word to their subordinate?"

"No, it's just…" Rukia had never considered herself resilient before, but she supposed she was. How else would she have survived Rukongai and made it to the Shinigami Academy?

She had forgotten about that very basic characteristic of herself. She was tough because of the experiences she had lived through and she never gave up and she smiled then. She wasn't going to give up now, not when they were so close.

"Thank you," Rukia said. "I feel a lot better."

Ukitake nodded. "I'm glad."

-

Byakuya opened up the message once the messenger had left. His hand again began to tremble as he unfolded the crisp, thick sheet of paper and he had to put it down on his desk, smooth it out, before he was able to clearly read what was written in the King's own hand. Byakuya breathed in and out quickly, reading fast and then reading it again to make sure he hadn't misunderstood anything.

_Kuchiki Byakuya,_

_I have received and read your request. I have thought a great deal about what you are asking to be allowed, which as you must know is against the Law. I distinctively remember the incidence you cite as proof that perhaps I should again allow another circumvention for this particular situation. I agree, you and Kuchiki Rukia are not bound to each other by the ties of blood, and that is why I will allow you to be judged by your fellow peers. If the other Taichous of the Gotei 13 agree to sanction your marriage to your adopted sister, then you have my dispensation._

_Sincerely,_

_King of the Soul Society_

-

**A/N: ** This is a short chapter, but I hope you guys enjoy it all the same! I just felt it had reached a situable ending and instead of pushing more words out, I'm going to focus on the next chapter. What do you think will happen now? With the Taichous? Everyone's going to find about FINALLY about Byakuya and Rukia? Also, what did you think about the conversation between Rukia and Ukitake? Thanks again for reviewing, it makes my day!

Released: 2/5/2009


	30. The Weight of Approval

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Twenty-nine**  
_The Weight of Approval_

Byakuya approached the situation of gaining his peers, his fellow Taichous' approval of his relationship with Rukia with trepidation, but with logic. He started first with Yamamoto-sou-taichou, who he expected to be the hardest, but surprisingly Yamamoto didn't seem so surprised at his announcement. Byakuya was coming to the distinct suspicion Yamamoto had known about their affair for a while, but how?

Anyhow, Yamamoto agreed to give his approval of the match as long as he got the unanimous approval of the other Taichous, which Byakuya didn't think would be such an easy thing. Soifon had just looked at him with disinterested eyes before telling him that she gave her approval only because he should be allowed to his life as he chose.

Byakuya had gritted his teeth when he had gone to Ichimaru Gin with his endlessly grinning face that just reeked of something sinister. Ichimaru's grin had widened when he heard what Byakuya had wanted and he had said, "Oh, you and your sister together like that? My, my, I never knew Kuchiki-taichou liked such things."

Byakuya had set the parchment with Yamamoto's and Soifon's seals on Ichimaru's desk and stood there with a rigid back. He had already explained to Ichimaru that Rukia was adopted and as not being his true-blooded sister, was eligible by a past situation to be considered a possible wife for him.

Gin had continued grinning and staring at him for a good long while before he stamped the parchment with his own seal. Byakuya had held himself back from quickly snatching it into his hands, instead he had said in a detached voice, "Thank you, Ichimaru-taichou."

"Of course, Kuchiki-taichou, of course."

Unohana Retsu was unexpectedly difficult, considering Byakuya had gotten by Yamamoto, Soifon, _and Ichimaru_ without a hitch. Unohana had questioned him about his decision thoroughly, bringing up an especially important thought he hadn't considered.

"It is an uphill battle for you and Rukia-san," Unohana stated calmly and serenely. "Despite the fact, you found evidence of a prior relationship like yours, it will be hard to make all those in the Seireitei understand the situation. You are the Taichou of the 6th Squad and the Head of the Kuchiki clan whereas Rukia-san is an unseated shinigami from the 13th Squad, who do you think it will be more difficult for?"

Byakuya thought long and hard about Unohana's words before he murmured, "It will not be easy, but both she and I know this and accept that we will have to struggle… her moreso than I."

"As long as you understand," Unohana said and smiled while she imprinted her seal on the parchment.

Aizen Sosuke had been the easiest Taichou to convince and Byakuya had seen the gentle looks he would give to his fukutaichou, Hinamori Momo. And it was even more obvious the love and worship in Hinamori's eyes. Byakuya had thanked Aizen and made his way to Komamura Saijin's domain.

If possible, Komamura had been even easier than Aizen. He simply said, "Who am I to judge you?"

It reminded Byakuya a lot of what Yamamoto-sou-taichou had said earlier. Now the next Taichou, Kyoraku Shunsui could be difficult to predict. Byakuya had carefully explained the situation as he had done previously with all the other Taichous before he paused and waited for Kyoraku-taichou, who was lounging beside his desk in his relaxed laziness, to respond to the request. "Well, I have nothing against it," Kyoraku remarked as he gestured for Ise-fukutaichou to hand him his seal. "You certainly do surprise me, Byakuya-sama."

Byakuya didn't care if he shocked Kyoraku into a seizure as long as he got his seal of approval so that he could confront the other captains. He was past the halfway point and his goal seemed within reach. It was time to visit Squad 10.

Hitsugaya Toshiro had been busy working and barely looked up at his paperwork to greet Byakuya when he had stepped into his office. Byakuya noticed that Hitsugaya-taichou's fukutaichou, Matsumoto was lazing around much like Kyoraku. Byakuya briefly told Hitsugaya about the situation and he wasn't even sure if Hitsugaya really was paying attention, he stamped his seal and motioned for Byakuya to leave him to his work.

Byakuya was amused as he walked over to Squad 11. It took a while to finally locate Zaraki-taichou because he wasn't where he was supposed to be and Byakuya kept a bland face when his fukutaichou cried, "Ken-chan, it's Bya-kun!"

Zaraki had turned to him with a huge grin. "Looking for a fight?"

Byakuya decided it was useless to explain anything to him, instead he handed him the parchment and told him to place his seal on it because it was a requirement of all the Taichous within the Gotei 13. Zaraki shrugged and sealed it and handed it back. Byakuya left quickly, flashstepping over to Kurotsuchi Mayuri's research laboratory.

While within the Research Institute, Byakuya made a point not to look carefully at anything lest he see something he would regret as Kurotsuchi-fukutaichou guided him to the private laboratory where Kurotsuchi-taichou did his own personal experiments.

Byakuya was glad to see that there were no current experiments being conduced and that Kurotsuchi was busy typing away at his database. He handed the parchment to Kurotsuchi and told him flat out why he was here. Kurotsuchi had an amused expression on his face, not saying anything as he pressed his seal into the parchment.

The only one who said anything to break the silence that had ensued was Kurotsuchi-fukutaichou was said, "This way, Kuchiki-taichou."

Byakuya was glad when he emerged from Squad 12 and he quickly flashstepped to Squad 13 because he was eager to get the last seal so he could send the parchment back to the King of the Soul Society and receive his official dispensation. The day had been hard and tiring, awkward and difficult, but it was worth it to be able to finally tell Rukia tonight that everything was done and settled.

The weight of worry Byakuya had carried on his shoulders ever since having to tell the Elders about Rukia and him was finally being lifted. Byakuya anticipated that Jushiro would be surprised about his relationship with Rukia, but Jushiro would finally understand why Byakuya did the things he did regarding her.

Byakuya was careful to make his way to Jushiro's office without running into any of the shinigami that would alert Rukia of his presence in Squad 13. He didn't want her to know what he was up to… he wanted to surprise her tonight once he got Jushiro's seal.

"Shunsui told me I should be expecting you," Jushiro remarked when Byakuya slipped quietly into the room. "Of course, he did not inform of what exactly, but he said it would greatly interest me."

"It does concern you," Byakuya stated.

Jushiro motioned for Byakuya to take a seat and he sank down onto the cushion in front of Jushiro's desk.

"As you know firsthand," Byakuya began, "the Elders of the Kuchiki clan wanted to marry Rukia to a noble and while I manage to avert such a circumstance, it came at a cost."

"I thought as much," Jushiro murmured, then waved his hand for Byakuya to continue.

"The Kuchiki elders wanted an heir for the clan…"

"And you offered," Jushiro finished. "I do not think you would be here for a simple congratulations for your upcoming nuptials…"

"No," Byakuya agreed. "I am here to ask you to approve of a marriage between Rukia and I."

Jushiro's only indication that he was surprised was the slight widening of his eyes. "So I see."

"Your seal is the last one I need," Byakuya continued. "And this isn't a sudden solution to an unexpected problem."

"What would you call it then?"

"Fate," he said softly.

"Fate," Jushiro repeated. "Do you love her?"

"I do."

"If I agree to this," he said, staring Byakuya straight in the eye, "I will require you to accede to one request that I will determine at a later time period, it is a request you cannot refuse. Do you agree?"

Byakuya nodded, knowing there was no way Jushiro would budge from his position without his acquiescence. He didn't care what request, whatever favor Jushiro asked of him as long as he got the seal and the ability to make Rukia his wife. Byakuya felt like he was watching years go by as Jushiro pressed his seal into the parchment. When it was finally done, Byakuya let out a sigh of sweet relief.

Nothing could stop them from beginning together – at least for now.

-

**A/N: ** This chapter took forever to write! Thanks for those of you that reviewed, I really do appreciate it. So what do you guys think of what has happened so far? What would you like to see next?

Released: 2/11/2009


	31. Changing of the Guard

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Thirty**  
_Changing of the Guard_

Just when everything was going well – the Elders had allowed him to officially become engaged to Rukia with the stipulation that an heir was provided within ten years and Rukia was happily planning the wedding, not letting him do anything since she wanted to surprise him – his trustworthy, dependable Fukutaichou was telling him that she was retiring.

"What?" Byakuya said a little more sharply and with more emotion than he intended.

"I've been the fukutaichou since your grandfather was the Taichou of Squad 6," Kinomoto said. "While I could have retired when my children were born, I decided to keep on being fukutaichou until I felt you had adjusted to the responsibility of being taichou. My _Kuchiki-taichou_ was an inspiration to me and I am sure that your new fukutaichou will feel the same about you, Kuchiki-taichou.

"It has been far longer than I ever expected it to be," she went on. "I have been proud and honored to serve two generations of the Kuchiki family and two Taichous of Squad 6. I've truly been blessed and while I am not exactly old, I feel that my time as a shinigami has come to an end. I hope you will forgive me this unexpected resignation… my eldest daughter is pregnant with her first child and I want to be there for her and my grandchild the way I never was with her."

When Kinomoto-fukutaichou put it so elegantly and so movingly like that, how could Byakuya do anything but congratulate her on becoming a grandmother and wish her the best?

But now he was stuck with the real and great possibility that he would end up with a fukutaichou that was nowhere near as great as Kinomoto had been. She had helped him a great deal in the beginning, when he had first become Taichou after his grandfather's retirement.

"I wish you well," Byakuya said.

"Thank you," Kinomoto responded. She turned to make her departure from Squad 6, but before she reached the door she looked back over her shoulder and said, "For what it's worth, I think you and Rukia-sama are perfectly suited."

-

Rukia lightly trailed her fingers over the many luxurious fabrics that had been brought to the Kuchiki mansion for her to pick out just the right one from her wedding kinomono. Rukia blushed when she thought about the lacy white fabric she had chosen for her undergarment already, wondering if Byakuya would like it or think it was too girly when he undressed her on their wedding night. It seemed like they had been through so much in such a small amount of time, but they hadn't even been together for two years yet…

And soon they would be married.

Rukia felt her cheeks grow warm when she thought about marrying Byakuya. It seemed more like a fairytale than reality, especially when she had never thought once of actually being able to be with him in any kind of official way. She had always assumed they would be together in a secretive sort of way… but now everything was changing. It was for the best, wasn't it?

She knew she was happy that they could finally be together without having to hide it or to fight the Elders, but a little part of her dreaded what would come next. Ukitake-taichou said that he wanted to talk to her about something and she was wondering if he was going to suggest that she retire from active duty as a shinigami.

Rukia had heard some of the older noble women within the Kuchiki clan whispering that it was unlikely she would stay on as a shinigami when it was only proper that she assume her duties as the wife of Kuchiki Byakuya.

What was expected of her as Lady Kuchiki? She didn't even know… how would she when the position had been vacant before she had even been adopted into the Kuchiki clan… and would they compare her to Hisana? Would Byakuya?

Rukia shook her head, not wanting to think about such dreary things when her wedding was supposed to be the happiest moment of her life. Wasn't it everything that a girl dreamed of? To be marrying the love of her life?

It was, she thought firmly to herself as she held up a beautiful pale pink and silver colored kimono with cherry blossoms scattered through the fabric, and this was perfect. It was beautiful and it reminded her of Senbonzakura and also… a little of Sode no Shirayuki with the silver. Rukia smiled and gestured for the seamstress that she was done picking her fabrics and they could begin making her wedding kimono.

-

As much as Byakuya would have liked to select a fukutaichou from his own squad, the 3rd seat was great at kido, but his zanjutsu was mediocre at best and the rest of the seated officers had one deficiency or another. Byakuya gritted his teeth as he ran through the prospects in his head again and concluded that his first conclusion was correction. He would have to find a fukutaichou outside from Squad 6, which meant he would have to tell Yamamoto-sou-taichou that he would need the recommendations from other Taichous.

He dreaded what the other Taichous considered a suitable fukutaichou. He thought about Squad 11's fukutaichou and didn't know what to think about Yachiru. Or even Squad 2's big, bumbling _rich_ fukutaichou under the capable Soifon. And what of Squad 10's lazy fukutaichou? Although, if he thought positively about it, Kira Izuru and Hinamori Momo were both capable fukutaichous. Furthermore, Kira had to deal with Ichimaru and that couldn't be easy.

This wasn't going to be the most pleasant undertaking, but it was a necessary one. Byakuya started writing the letter addressed to Yamamoto-sou-taichou, informing him that he would need the other Taichous within the Gotei 13 to recommend him a new fukutaichou. When he was done penning the letter, Byakuya was about to call for his 3rd seat to deliver it to Squad 1 when the man in question appeared at his door with a letter from Ukitake-taichou.

Just when you thought things couldn't get much worse, Byakuya thought staring down at the letter in his hand, they invariably got much worse. Of course, Jushiro would use the favor he had wrong out of him for such a purpose. In the back of his mind, Byakuya had already known what Jushiro was going to ask.

And now there was nothing he could do about it… he had given his word.

-

**A/N: ** I'm sorry this update took so long, but I had a really hard time writing this chapter (much like the last one). I had parts written that didn't connect, had to delete some things and rewrite them and then well, had to try and connect the parts I did like and want to keep. It's much easier when I write in a continuous flow, but didn't happen this time. Anyway, exams for me start next week and go for two weeks, then I'm going on a road trip. Hopefully I'll be able to update once or so in the mean time (maybe more!). Keep up the great job reviewing, it really does motivate me, especially when I'm studying about 10+ hrs everyday (I'll soon be studying 14+ hrs).

P.S. I know I forgot Tousen-taichou last chapter, just insert him in with your mind. I don't feel like working that scene in b/c honestly, I forgot Komamura at first and his little scene ended up taking me two days more to release that last chapter! I figure you can do w/o Tousen. ^_^

Released: 2/19/2009


	32. The Invitation

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Thirty-one**  
_The Invitation_

Byakuya had personally observed two shinigamis already, one from Squad 2 and the other from Squad 10. Neither of them were suited to be fukutaichous yet, someday but not today. The last shinigami he would observe would be Abarai Renji. Byakuya gritted his teeth as he nodded for his 3rd seat and Abarai to start the test. His 3rd seat, for all the mediocrity of his zanjutsu, had been able to repel the other two suggested shinigamis without too much of a problem. If his 3rd seat could hold his own against Abarai, then Byakuya would reconsider him being insufficient for the seat of fukutaichou. After all, defeating any seated member from Squad 11 was saying something.

Byakuya wanted his 3rd seat to do well, if only to prevent himself from being saddled with Abarai Renji as his fukutaichou. Byakuya knew that Abarai had 'feelings' for Rukia, although it was doubtful Rukia knew herself. Byakuya sighed and watched the progression of their fight, watching as they both resorted to their shikai release and Byakuya wasn't surprised to see that Abarai's shikai was a melee-type. It suited his personality, much like Rukia's ice-type zanpakuto suited her.

As soon as the shikais was released, Byakuya could clearly see the difference in their skill. Abarai might not be highly seated, but he was talented. Byakuya noticed his 3rd seat was struggling to match Abarai swing-for-swing and had resorted to kido to offset the differences in their zanjutsu. Abarai, Byakuya noted, did not use any kido at all – instead he relied on his speed and his zanjutsu and it was enough. His 3rd seat was going to be severely sore the next day and injured if Byakuya didn't halt the test.

"Stop," Byakuya stated, holding up his hand. "I have seen enough."

Abarai turned to him, looking only slightly winded while his 3rd seat was out of breath, leaning on his zanpakuto. Byakuya was disgusted. He was correct that his 3rd seat had progressed as far as he was going to at this point. Maybe the next several decades he would finally improve, but as for now… Abarai Renji was the only suitable candidate to be fukutaichou of Squad 6.

-

Jushiro was waiting for Kaien to bring Rukia to his office rather impatiently as he settle for tapping his fingers against his desk. It was about time that he finally managed to think of a way to get what he wanted and what Rukia deserved. Of course, he was a little disappointed that he wouldn't be the one to get to tell her, but he figured Kaien wanted to inform her more than anyone else.

"Ukitake-taichou?" Rukia said as she slid open the door while Kaien stood behind her. "You wanted to see me?"

"Please come in Rukia," Jushiro said, gesturing her and Kaien to take a seat in front of him. "Kaien has something very important that he wishes to tell you."

Kaien gave him a mock glare of annoyance before turning his full attention to Rukia. "Well, you remember that thing I promised you?"

"What thing?" Rukia asked, looking completely confused.

Jushiro wasn't surprised, after all, if he had been dragged here through whatever rambling reason Kaien had come up with to get her here – he would likely be just as confused as she was. Jushiro leaned back, watching the interaction with fondness for the both of them. They acted like siblings.

"I can't believe you already forgot!" Kaien exclaimed, looking miffed although Jushiro could see the excitement in his eyes.

It was nice to see that again in Kaien. Jushiro hadn't been certain if Kaien would ever be the same after Miyako's death. It had been hard for him to lose his 3rd seat and one of the oldest members in his squad, but it had to be indescribably difficult for Kaien to lose his partner _and_ his wife. While Rukia could never take Miyako's place, she certainly did have a special place in Kaien's heart and who better to take Miyako's seat than Rukia?

"What did I forget?" she asked, looking at Jushiro briefly before returning her gaze to Kaien.

"About your promotion, of course," Kaien remarked in an entirely different tone from before. He sounded like he was bored and Jushiro turned his head to the side to cover the rolling of his eyes. Kaien could be excessive sometimes.

"My promotion?"

Rukia was still confused, it was rather endearing how she'd already forgotten that Kaien had wanted to promote her to the 3rd seat. How long had it been? A couple of months, no doubt, Jushiro had lost track of the time. But it had been a while, although not really that much time for a shinigami.

"To the 3rd seat!" Kaien exclaimed, once back to his genuinely excited voice. "I can't believe you forgot!"

"But… I thought—" Rukia looked at Jushiro and looked back at Kaien, turning back and forth and finally gave up and stared at the floor. "Didn't Yamamoto-sou-taichou reject the recommendation?"

"He did," Jushiro confirmed before Kaien could speak. "However, I sent in another recommendation with your recent results in leading your group on their missions and he approved your promotion."

It helped a lot that Byakuya had owed him a favor in getting Yamamoto-sou-taichou's approval, but that was something Jushiro would leave to Byakuya to explain it should Rukia ever found out about it.

"So…" Rukia began slowly, now looking at both of them, "I am the 3rd seat of Squad 13?"

Kaien grinned and Jushiro smiled warmly. "You got that right!" Kaien said.

"You will do very well," Jushiro stated softly. "I am certain of it."

Rukia looked too moved to say anything, so she nodded instead as Kaien gave her a big hug.

"There will be a small ceremony later to honor your promotion," Jushiro said when he realized Rukia's tongue was still twisted. "You may want to invite your fiancé."

Kaien turned quickly to Rukia and exclaimed in an even louder voice than he had used before, "When did you get engaged? To who?"

"You should really pay more attention to the announcements," Jushiro admonished Kaien. "It was announced a week ago in the papers. I'm surprised you didn't know."

Kaien scratched the back of his head. "So that's why you've been missing for the last few days and that's why everyone said congratulations to you earlier. I was pretty sure no one knew about your promotion, but…"

Rukia giggled then and Jushiro was glad to see the happiness shining in her eyes. She was definitely not the same hesitant Rukia that had first appeared as an inexperienced shinigami. She had finally grown confident of herself and become the woman she was meant to be.

"Who is it though?" Kaien asked.

Rukia blushed hotly and Jushiro smiled with amusement. "Byakuya-sama," she said, looking down at the ground.

"Isn't he your brother?" Kaien blurted out before the realization hit him. "I remember now! You were adopted into the Kuchiki clan, weren't you?"

Rukia nodded.

"But Kuchiki-taichou?" Kaien looked at her and crossed his arms over his chest. "They aren't forcing you, are they?"

Rukia shook her head. "I love him."

"The question is, does he love you?"

Rukia's face was even redder than before, if that was even possible. Jushiro was highly amused and he decided it had definitely been worth letting Kaien tell Rukia about her promotion to the 3rd seat. Jushiro wasn't sure he had had this much fun watching the two of them converse in ages.

"I am sure he does," Jushiro said, deciding that Kaien had interrogated Rukia enough for the day. "Kaien and I need to do some little preparations, but why don't you personally invite Byakuya to the ceremony? I am sure that will please him."

Actually, Jushiro wasn't sure about that, but he was certain Rukia inviting him to the ceremony would be a lot better than for him to extend an invitation – that would undoubtedly only anger Byakuya even more. Jushiro just hoped as he watched Rukia flash step to Squad 6 that Byakuya realized how happy she was - with her life as a shinigami and with him as her lover.

-

**A/N: ** I hope you like this chapter and please review. I need some inspiration to keep going. I'm not really sure if this is going to end soon or if I'll keep going. Not really sure… what more I need to tell and what more I want to tell… if that makes any sense.

Anyway, thanks to all who reviewed last time and thanks to all those who have added this story to their favorites and their alerts – it really does make me smile to see people who like reading my work even as I struggle with med school. ^_^!

Released: 2/25/2009


	33. His Pride

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Thirty-two**  
_His Pride_

Rukia was nervous as she made her way to Squad 6 – to Byakuya. She didn't know why she should be worried when she had such wonderful news. It had taken so many years, but now she was finally a seated officer. Byakuya would be proud of, she knew he would be. He had probably been sorely disappointed when she hadn't made a seated position when she had first joined her squad, but she had rectified it.

It may have taken a lot longer than she had thought it would take, but she felt like she was a well-rounded shinigami. Perhaps, her kido skills were superior to her zanjutsu, but that only gave her more motivation to seek improvement. And Rukia was positive that it was because of Byakuya that she had gotten this far. She owed a lot to her… fiancé, she blushed as she thought of him in that way.

If he had not taught her shunpo, she wouldn't be as good as she was today. And of course, his instruction when she had finally broken through and achieved her shikai release… All along he had been there, giving her pointers and tips, and she had promised herself she would make him proud of her. As she stood outside of his office, her heart began to thump in an erratic, excited rhythm.

She knocked on the door and she felt her face turn red when she heard his smooth voice say, "Come in."

"I'm sorry to bother you," Rukia began as she walked into his office, "but I have news…" Her voice trailed off abruptly when she saw that Byakuya was not alone. Renji was also there, sitting before Byakuya.

What was Renji doing there?

Rukia felt like she was trapped when Renji's eyes settled on her. She had not seen him, not talked to him since she had rejected him more than a year ago. It was hard for her to face him, knowing that she had hurt him. It didn't help that she knew he would never forgive her for doing what she had done. But how could she tell him the truth? And now? It was even worse.

Did he know she was engaged to Byakuya? She recalled something about one of the Elders saying they would need to release an announcement about their engagement soon. Had they already done that? Even if they had, would Renji even read something insipid like that? It would undoubtedly be in the society section of the newspaper. She doubted he had any interest in something of that sort.

She felt flushed with nerves. Rukia's gaze drifted to Byakuya and she saw that his shoulders were tense and his eyes were deadly serious. It wasn't too long ago that such a look would have made her tremble with anxiety.

"Do you need something?" Byakuya finally asked, breaking the silence. His voice was polite, but distant. It was obvious to her that he did not want to discuss anything to her with Renji in the room.

"It can wait," Rukia said in a rush. "I will see you at home then—"

"I was just leaving," Renji interrupted as he stood up, pointedly ignoring her by addressing Byakuya. "What time do I report here?"

"At dawn."

Renji nodded and with that, he was gone, leaving Rukia confused and alone with Byakuya. Rukia glanced sideways at him, wondering if she should say something first or if she should wait for him. A couple of questions were on her mind, but she could tell that he was not in the best of moods.

"What did you need?" Byakuya asked in a much kinder voice than he had used previously.

Rukia looked up at Byakuya, thinking she was silly to be so nervous. "I have wonderful news!"

Was it her imagination or did his expression seemed strained for a moment? It had to be her, why would Byakuya look like that?

"What news?"

"I don't know quite how to tell you, but I have made the 3rd seat of Squad 13!" Rukia said in a rush. "I couldn't have done it without you, though. You definitely helped me improve my skills as a shinigami and I hope that this makes you proud of me. I know you were disappointed when I didn't make a seated position when I first entered the Gotei 13, but now I…"

"I have always been proud of you," Byakuya stated, his eyes dark and intense. "You should never doubt that. You are _my pride._"

Rukia smiled. "Ukitake-taichou is having a small ceremony for me this afternoon." She looked at him with her shining eyes. "If you can spare the time, I would love it if you could come."

"I will be there," he said.

Byakuya held out with his hand and Rukia took it, laughing softly as he pulled her to him to hug her and to bend his head down to kiss her. Rukia sighed as she rested her head against his chest. How could life get any better than this?

"Will you promise me something?" he asked softly.

"Yes?"

"I know you cannot always help your missions, but can you promise me that you won't seek deliberately dangerous missions?"

Rukia leaned back and looked up into his beautiful and concerned eyes. She placed both of her hands on his face, framing it. "Don't worry, you worry far too much."

"You are the most precious thing in the world to me," he whispered.

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him gently on the lips. "I love you, Byakuya."

"I love you too."

-

**A/N: ** Wow sappy at the end, hopefully it's not too saccharine. Thanks for all the reviews. I definitely didn't plan on updating any time until after exams or my trip! But I felt a little guilty because of the wonderful responses to my last chapter, so here you go! (I wrote this as a study break!) I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing this. I'm not quite sure what will happen after this, but there are a few more chapters at the very least! Let me know what you think!

Oh, and I decided to concentrate on Rukia's POV since it's been a while since we've heard her mainly her thoughts. It's been a little Byakuya heavy recently (not that that's a bad thing ^-^!).

Released: 3/4/2009


	34. A Fork in the Road

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Thirty-three**  
_A Fork in the Road_

This was the second happiest day of his life, Kaien thought, as he watched Rukia bow before Ukitake and accept her place as a seated officer in Squad 13. Of course, nothing could compare to his wedding day, but he would certainly remember this day. After all, it was the day his little Rukia grew up and became a big girl.

Kaien grinned as Ukitake helped her to stand up. She didn't even come up to his shoulders. She would always be _little Rukia_, but she was definitely growing up now. She wasn't the same inexperienced shinigami that had been so shy and uncertain that first day. She was finally becoming what he had always known her to be capable of – he had just gotten the feeling the day she had stepped into Squad 13 she was going to be special. He was glad he was proven right.

If only… if only Miyako could have seen her make it this far, he didn't he could be any prouder of Rukia than his beloved. As much as he had taken Rukia under his wing as his favored student, Miyako had related to Rukia as an older sister figure. Kaien sighed and turned his attention away from Rukia to look anywhere else. He could not think about Miyako without getting choked up.

Kaien stopped his gaze on Byakuya – Rukia's adopted brother and now fiancé. It was an interesting development, one that Kaien hadn't been so sure he approved of until he had seen with his own eyes the devotion in Byakuya's eyes. The Taichou of Squad 6 never looked at anyone else. His attention was focused solely on Rukia. It was hard to read his expression, but Kaien knew enough to know that Byakuya was deeply in love with Rukia.

As Rukia was with him – Kaien hoped fiercely the two of them would be happy and never know a day of sorrow. He would never wish the tragedy he had experienced on anyone else. Kaien glanced back at Rukia. The least he could do, he thought fondly, was to protect her.

It was what Miyako would have wanted.

-

It was a strange feeling of fear and absolute pride as Byakuya watched Rukia accept her seat from Jushiro. He wasn't sure which emotion was stronger… the fear that Rukia would get in over her head to prove that she was as capable as any officer in Squad 13 despite the promise she had made him or… the pride that he had that she had made the climb up to the 3rd seat despite him blocking her at every intersection.

Rukia turned around and walked down the row of seated officers within Squad 13 and took her place besides Shiba-fukutaichou. Byakuya felt his heart constrict when Rukia looked straight at him and smiled. She was so beautiful and precious to him. And standing next to Shiba as she was made Byakuya all the more fearful. What if Rukia was taken away from him like Shiba's wife had been taken from him?

It would take him more than a year to face the world again. How had Shiba ever had the strength? Byakuya shifted his gaze to Shiba and noted that he would never be the vibrant, brash young shinigami he had been in the past. Undoubtedly, it would make him more cautious now with his duties as fukutaichou.

For this, Byakuya was glad even as he regretted the loss of Shiba Miyako. If she hadn't died, then Rukia would still be unseated and as safe as she could be as a shinigami. Byakuya sighed. He would need to talk to Jushiro, to make sure he did not send Rukia on any dangerous missions.

If Rukia was ever taken from him, he would rip the world apart to find her again.

-

"Congratulations!" Momo exclaimed, pouring Renji some more sake. "Can you believe all three of us are fukutaichous? Who would believe we would have come so far in such a short time?"

"Some of farther than others," Izuru remarked. "I wonder how Rukia is doing. I haven't talked to her in ages, it seems."

Renji took the sake and drained it quickly, putting the cup down on the table and pushing it toward Momo again for her to refill it. He didn't want to hear anyone talk about Rukia. He couldn't bear to hear anything about her since… _that day. _

"You haven't heard the news?" Momo said as she filled Renji's cup again.

"What news?"

"I can't believe you two haven't heard about it yet. Do you even read the papers?" Momo asked indignantly.

"I'm busy," Izuru responded defensively.

"What news?" Renji asked, staring intensely at her.

"She's engaged!"

"Really?" Izuru said. "I really have been out of the loop if I do not even know when a good friend becomes engaged."

"Yes, but I wonder…" Momo murmured. "Considering who it is… if it was simply an arrangement?"

"Who is it?" Izuru inquired before Renji could snap out the question.

"Kuchiki-taichou."

_Of course,_ Renji thought derisively. That was probably the reason he had adopted her in the first place all those years ago. Renji had always thought it was peculiar how Rukia had been pluck from obscurity. Why her? Why her of all people? She's supposed to be mine, Renji thought as he took the sake bottle and pressed it to his lips. He didn't hear Momo's protest or Izuru telling him to take it easy.

Who cared anyway? He was going to have to be the fukutaichou of Kuchiki Byakuya – the irony! He would have to serve the very man who had stolen his Rukia from him, not once but twice! Renji grimaced as the sake hit the back of his throat. He wanted to scream, he wanted to forget everything. It would be easier than knowing Rukia would never be his again.

Renji vowed then that he would surpass Kuchiki Byakuya no matter what! He would show Rukia he was better and the better man for her – he clung to Momo's words – it was _simply an arrangement. _

That was it. That was all.

-

**A/N: ** You guys are so awesome as reviewers, you again goaded me to finish another chapter. I'm done with exams for this block at least and I did (so far) so much better (which isn't hard when I pretty much failed everything last block). All the scores have been 80+, which is about as well as I ever do in med school. Thanks so much for reviewing and making my day. I'm off on my road trip/spring break. I promise to update as much as I can when I get back, but your reviews certainly motivate my muse!

This chapter is more of a progression chapter, but I think it's still nice, especially since we finally get around to Renji learning about the engagement. Let me make this clear, I don't like writing one-dimensional characters, so Renji isn't the "bad guy." So don't hate him, remember he has loved Rukia for longer than even Byakuya has... so pity him a little and perhaps thunk him on the head for not getting his act together ^-^.

Released: 3/6/2009


	35. The Wedding

**Note:** I took liberties with the ceremony (mimicking them after a traditional temple wedding for Chinese b/c I couldn't find any real sources fast enough) and also please read the author's note if you want the extra "scene."

* * *

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Thirty-four**  
_The Wedding_

This was what it would be like to watch a child of his own walk on the wedding path, Jushiro thought, as he waited for Rukia to make her appearance. There was still a few minutes before everything would start and Kaien was not present. Jushiro was going to smack Kaien like Kiyone did to Sentaro if he missed Rukia's final walk as an unmarried woman. Just as he thought this, Kaien appeared in his seat, looking winded.

"You almost missed it."

"But I didn't," Kaien stated and gestured to the seat that Kira Izuru was now taking. "I'm not the latest either."

"You should have been earlier."

"I was asked to help look for someone."

"With Kira?" Jushiro said, looking astutely back and forth between the two of them. "For who?"

"Abarai Renji."

"Squad 6's fukutaichou? Why?"

"He's a childhood friend of Rukia's and… he's in love with her."

"I see," Jushiro remarked. "He wouldn't come?"

"I couldn't find him. I don't know if Kira found him either. I don't think he wanted to be found."

"It would be hard," Jushiro murmured more to himself than to Kaien, " to watch someone you love marry another."

-

This was the happiest day of her life. Nothing could compare to this moment. How could it? She was finally marrying the love of her life in spite of all the trials they had faced to get to this point. Rukia kept her eyes to the ground, afraid to look ahead – to see all the friends and family that had gathered here on this special day.

"Rukia-sama," one of her attendants said, "it is time."

All the attendants that followed her were members of the Kuchiki clan. Rukia wished she knew them better, but she had gotten to know them a bit when they had helped her plan the wedding. Rukia looked up as cherry blossoms began to fall from the sky. She took a deep breath and starting walking down the path, her attendants following behind, to her husband-to-be.

Byakuya was standing at the end, waiting for her. He was handsome in his traditional garb that his father and his grandfather before him had all worn. Rukia smiled at him and watched him smile back at her. Rukia let her eyes wander a bit and she was pleased to see that all those from Squad 13 were present for her wedding as was most of Squad 6 with the notable exception of Renji.

Momo and Izuru were present, but it hurt that Renji wasn't there. He was such an important part of her life and yet she understood that he couldn't accept that she was marrying her adopted brother and his Taichou. Rukia would admit freely that she and Renji shared something special and intangible, but it wasn't the love she felt for Byakuya. Maybe – if circumstances had been different – maybe it would have been Renji.

But now it would never be, Rukia thought as she walked closer and closer to her beloved. She was forever Byakuya's.

-

It was like a dream, watching Rukia walk toward him. She was wearing a beautiful pale pink kimono of cherry blossoms while the cherry blossoms he had arranged floated down upon her and the crowd. It was a large ceremony as befitted a family as great as the Kuchiki's. It was not Byakuya's preference, but he was proud to display his chosen wife to all the Seireitei if they could see her how he saw her.

Byakuya glanced briefly away from Rukia to meet Jushiro's eyes and he saw the warm approval in them. Somehow that made this day feel all the more _right_. Byakuya held out his hand as Rukia drew near and the nerves inside of him settled as soon as he felt her hand in his.

Together they walked up the steps of the Temple to the platform where Takahiro was waiting with the Priest to perform the wedding rites. Byakuya and Rukia both kneeled on the pillow mats that had been place before the priest and they bowed to him, then to the east, then the west, then the south, and finally they bowed to each other.

"On this lucky day before the gods, we join Kuchiki Byakuya to Rukia in a ceremony that will pledge their love and devotion to each other for now and ever. With the gods' blessing, may the two of them receive peace and happiness. May the two of them respect and honor each other, to share their joy and sorrows in the life they lead together. Do you vow this?"

"I do. I vow to love and protect Rukia," Byakuya swore, looking deeply into Rukia's violet eyes, "for this life and beyond."

"As do I. I vow to love and safeguard Byakuya," Rukia said, her eyes glimmering with amusement as she changed one of the words, "for this life and beyond."

"I humbly declare you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride."

Byakuya held both of Rukia's hands and gently drew her closer until their clothes rustled against each other, only then did he lower his face and pressed a kiss onto his accepting lips.

After the kiss, he drew back and pressed his forehead to hers. "Are you ready, Lady Kuchiki?"

She looked up into his eyes. "Are you?"

"I've been ready for this day longer than you know."

Her eyes widened a bit before narrowing. "How long?"

Byakuya smiled and after a second of wavering, she also smiled. "That is for me to know alone."

"I love you," Rukia whispered sweetly.

"As I love you."

Behind them, Byakuya was aware that people were throwing rice at them, but all he could do was stare into Rukia's eyes – completely and utterly happy. There might be better days to come, he thought, but this was their happiest day in his memory thusfar. Of course, there was something looming. Byakuya could feel a presence of a danger drawing closer, but he wouldn't allow it to come close to Rukia. He had vowed to protect her in this life and beyond and he kept his promises.

Byakuya finally looked up and caught Takahiro staring at them. There were things that he didn't know of yet that would trouble them and there were things that they already knew of that were going to cause problems. It was going to be difficult, but no one had ever said it was going to be easy. It would be okay in the end. Byakuya looked back down at Rukia.

He had been blessed with love twice and this time he knew _this one was the one meant for him._

-

**A/N: ** Thanks for being so awesome and reviewing that much! I will be writing a _**Wedding Night **_omake soon. If you would like to read it, please leave a review as I will not be posting this on ff . net . Don't expect it to be _that_ explicit, but it will of course have something that would not fit the current rating. Anyway, we've come to a turning point in the story. From here on out… I basically consider the romance part of the story complete and any further chapters are bonuses. Let me stress, there will be more chapters, how many more I don't know yet. As long as you keep supporting me, I'm sure I'll find the encouragement needed to keep going!

Released: 3/15/2009


	36. Wedding Night

**Note: **For those that reviewed the last chapter, you guys are super-super-spectacular and I really do appreciate it!

* * *

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Thirty-five**  
_Wedding Night_

The light was dim in the room, the haze of moonlight seeping in and chasing the darkness away, when Byakuya carried Rukia in and gently placed her onto the bed. Rukia started to untie the ribbons holding her kimono together when Byakuya pulled her hands away.

"Let me," he said.

Rukia blushed and Byakuya smiled a little. He undid her ties and slowly unwrapped the kimono. There were many layers to pull away before he reached her inner garments. He stopped there when he saw the delicate lace that covered her lithe body.

"Are you nervous?" he asked, looking away from her body to her face.

"A little," she admitted. She bit her bottom lip. "Are you?"

"A little," he echoed.

She smiled at that and hesitantly placed her hands on his chest. "Do you… would you like me to undress you?"

He smiled and she pushed his clothes off his shoulders, letting them fall to the ground. Rukia bit her bottom lip as she peeled off the last layer of his clothes and he stood bare-chested in front of her. Byakuya cupped her face in his hands and kissed her gently.

"There is no need to be embarrassed," he murmured.

He hooked his thumbs into his pant bottoms and pushed them down, stepping out of them and moving closer to her. He pressed his naked body against her, hugging her close to him.

"Will you join me in bed?"

She nodded against his chest. Byakuya carefully led her to the bed and pushed her down until she was sitting on it, then he placed his hands on her undergarment. He looked at her, waiting for her approval. She took the edge of the lacy shift and pulled it up, over, and off.

Byakuya swallowed and he slowly let his eyes roam over Rukia's lithe body before his gaze returned to her face. "You're beautiful," he said.

"So are you," Rukia said.

She reached for him, pulling him on top of him and Byakuya was fiercely glad she was no longer hesitating. Rukia wasn't shy or retiring, that was not the person she was. This was more like her, for her to hold onto him and to bring him closer to her.

Byakuya inhaled her wonderful scent and positioned himself so that he wasn't crushing her. He then began to kiss her lips slowly, taking time to worship her wonderfully soft lips in a way he'd never had before. It was hard not to get impatient, to move to other parts, but why rush this precious moment?

Rukia was the one who broke the kiss, smiling languidly at him. "I love the way you kiss me," she said, reaching up with her hand to touch his cheek. "I love you. I… I want to make you happy and I don't know how." She was blushing a bright pink now. "You'll have to show me."

Byakuya groaned and kissed the sweet corners of her mouth then lingering on her lips. "I love you," he said, holding her close, feeling her underneath him. "I love you so much."

-

While Byakuya and Rukia were enjoying their first night together as a married couple, Takahiro had gathered the elders closest to him for an important _secret _meeting that he had purposefully kept from Byakuya. Takahiro did not like going behind the back of the Head of the Kuchiki clan, but in this case he had no choice.

Byakuya was blindly in love with Rukia and while it had made it possible for him to be attached again, there was no guarentee of an heir. Takahiro meant to hold both of them to their promise. They might be wedded, but Takahiro wanted an heir from them before he allowed their life to be _easy_.

"You know why I have called this meeting," Takahiro began. "It is clear that this marriage like Byakuya-sama's previous one is a love match; however, while his happiness and Rukia-sama's is important – the paramount concern is that of an heir. How do you propose we enforce the promise?

"We have already said we would not approve of them being together until they have provided us an heir to the Kuchiki clan. Now they are married, since we could not allow Rukia-sama to conceive out of wedlock and it would go against Byakuya's honor for him to bed her when they were not man and wife. They have their deepest wish. How shall we ensure ours?"

"She must retire immediately from her shinigami post!" one of the elders exclaimed.

Another elder nodded. "It is unfortunate that she has just attained her seated position after having failed when she first joined the Gotei 13."

"While her position as third seat of Squad 13 is a highly respectable post," Takahiro remarked, "providing an heir to one of the Great Noble Houses is far more important. I do not think Byakuya-sama would be against her retirement. I believe he would want to keep her safe and to do that it would be far easier if she was not a shinigami."

"I doubt Rukia-sama will appreciate this," one of the elders said astutely. "She has always been stubborn… determined to prove herself."

"She must realize her duty as the wife of Kuchiki Byakuya."

"There is another, greater concern," one elder stated. "You do remember Hisana's difficulties, do you not?"

Several of the elders nodded and one of them posed the question: "What if Rukia-sama cannot conceive like her sister?"

It was one of Takahiro's gravest concerns with the marriage, knowing the difficulties Hisana had when she had tried to conceive the Kuchiki heir. She was of a delicate constitution, unlike Rukia. However, Rukia did resemble her sister greatly and what was even more worrisome was that Rukia was more petite than Hisana. If Rukia could carry a baby to full-term, how would she handle the birthing?

Takahiro closed his eyes and said a quick prayer to the gods. He did not think Byakuya could bear to have his heart broken again, especially when Takahiro had the great suspicion that Byakuya was even more enamoured with Rukia than he had ever been with Hisana. It only made sense. Byakuya knew Rukia for longer and they shared more qualities _and_ this was not a first love kind of love. This was more mature and far deeper.

"We must hope she does," Takahiro said firmly as he opened his eyes. "We must do everything in our power to make sure she can."

* * *

**A/N: ** Review and you'll get to see the more explicit part of the "Wedding Night." I know I said I would send the omake out (and I did send a preview to those that did review); however the omake was getting to be chapter length, so I decided to make it part of a chapter instead and cut out anything that might be inappropriate. It's really hard to write a tasteful lovemaking scene that isn't corny and cheesy and appropriate for Rukia and Byakuya, so bear with me.

Besides the more you review, the more likely I'll work on this story than my other story ^-^! You already guilted me into writing this a lot faster than I would have otherwise!

Released: 3/27/2009


	37. Fast Forward

**Note: **This chapter features a big leap forward in the storyline, please review and let me know what you think. Thank you!

* * *

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Thirty-six**  
_Fast Forward_

_95 years into the future…_

This was her final mission as the 3rd seat of Squad 13. After this last solo mission, she would retire having served nearly a hundred years as a shinigami. It was somewhat of an accomplishment, nothing compared to the hundreds of years that Ukitake-taichou and some of the other Taichous of Gotei 13 had served. But that was all the time that Byakuya and her could wrestle from the Elders before the inevitable.

It wasn't like she didn't want to have a child of her own, a son that looked just liked her beloved Byakuya. It was what she wanted more than anything, but she hadn't wanted to give up being a shinigami as well. Yet she knew how improper it was, for one of the wives of the Four Great Noble Clans to continue as a shinigami or in another vein of work. She had to retire and stay at home once she had conceived.

It had been wonderful years, to be a shinigami, especially in Squad 13. She would miss them all, Ukitake-taichou and Kaien-dono.

This was her last bit of service as a shinigami and she was undertaking a mission that could have assigned to any unseated officer. She had decided to take this because it would hardly be challenging for her, and that was the benefit. She knew Byakuya worried about how brave she was and how she would leapt into action and give it her all to protect others and to help turn the tide… but she knew how to keep herself safe if she had to.

And she had a reason now. Rukia pressed her hand to her still flat abdomen. She had not told Byakuya about her present condition because she wasn't certain. She was relatively sure she was pregant. She had missed her period for a week or so now, but maybe she was just late. She did not want any false alarms, not when she wasn't even supposed to try until _after_ she retired.

Rukia didn't know at first why she had decided to be reckless, to allow herself the chance to become pregnant before she was required to. She knew now why. It was easier to give this up – she held the hilt of Sode no Shirayuki in her hands – if there was something waiting for her, especially a baby of her own.

But to retire and try unsuccessfully to get pregnant and to fail! That would be horrible. She was glad she had done it now, especially since she was pretty sure she was indeed pregnant and after this mission she would hang up her shinigami robes and consent to be the proper wife of the Head of the Kuchiki clan.

She would miss this, but Sode no Shirayuki would forever be her zanpakuto. Nothing could take away their bond and she was proud of all that she had accomplished with him by her side. And while she might not be a shinigami anymore, it did not mean she had to give up practicing her skills.

Rukia nodded at the hell butterfly that hovered above her and the senkaimon was opened. She took a deep breath and rushed forward – it was time to begin her mission…

-

"Byakuya-sama," Takahiro greeted after he had been shown into the Taichou's office by the red-headed fukutaichou. "You requested a meeting?"

"Indeed," Byakuya stated, lifting his head from his work, "please sit."

Takahiro took a seat in front of Byakuya's desk. "What is it that you would like to discuss?"

"My wife," Byakuya said.

"What of Rukia-sama?" Takahiro inquired.

"Her one hundred years is almost up," Byakuya remarked. "Then she will become a proper wife of the Kuchiki clan, as was the agreement made so many years before, and bear the necessary heir."

"What is your concern?"

"Once Rukia has had the baby and spends a few years caring for him, I would very much like to have the Elders reconsider her permanent retirement from duty as a shinigami. We live for so many years that I am certain that Rukia would not be satisfied living as just my wife. She was meant to be a shinigami and it is such a huge part of her life that I would not want to take that away from her. I am sure knowing that would please her very much."

"To be a shinigami is to be in constant danger," Takahiro responded, "are you sure you want that for your wife and the mother of your children?"

"I want whatever makes her happy," Byakuya said. "Rukia is a very talented shinigami. I trust her abilities. I believe that soon enough she will achieve her bankai. She is very close as it is and once she has reached that pinnacle, it will be extremely hard to keep her from being further promoted."

"Unless she were to retire permanently," Takahiro stated.

"I think if she were to stay at her post, as the 3rd seat of Squad 13, she would be able to manage her duties easily enough. She has become the de facto teacher for the incoming shinigami and it would not require her to be constantly busy. She would be able to do both and I am sure Ukitake-taichou would be accomodating."

"You are pushing this issue very strongly," Takahiro noted. "Has Rukia been dissatisfied with her impending retirement?"

"She has not spoken of it, actually," Byakuya admitted. "But I know she would miss being a shinigami."

"Sometimes, you cannot have everything that you wish," Takahiro replied.

"And yet, you still must try," Byakuya said softly.

Takahiro inclined his head. "I will mention it to the Elders at an appropriate time. I think it would be easier to sway them once the heir was born. They would likely give in to whatever request when the inheritance has been ensured."

"Takahiro," Byakuya murmured, "you have been the Head Elder longer than I have been the Head of the Kuchiki clan and you have seen me grown up."

"I have."

"I want to do everything in my power to make Rukia happy, is such a thing a crime?"

* * *

**A/N: ** This chapter was really fast because of all the encouraging reviews (and because it was the weekend and I took a study break to quickly write this up)! Thank you so much for all your continued support. Please let me know what you think about the chapter and any suggestions and thoughts on what you think will happen next would be highly appreciated! I had planned to do this all along, after watching Turnback the Pendulum arc. It took a little longer to get to this point than I thought it would, but I like developing everything at the pace it needs to go rather than rushing it.

I hope those that got the complete "Wedding Night" omake enjoyed it! If you didn't review and let me know and I'll send you the omake via pm.

Released: 3/29/2009


	38. The Falsehood

**Note: **For those that read this chapter, please keep an open mind. And you should realize this was coming when I opened the senkaimon in the last chapter... for where else could I go?

* * *

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Thirty-seven**  
_The Falsehood_

"Hado yon byakurai!" Rukia shouted, sending powerful lightening coursing through the Hollow. It succumbed to hado #4 and she leapt to it, slicing it ceremoniously before sending it back to be reborn as something hopefully better than what it had become. She wiped her forehead with her hand.

She was a little tired. There were a lot more Hollows than she had expected, but the entire town resonated with flickerings of strong reiatsu. It was likely why Ukitake-taichou had decided to send a highly ranked seated officer on this assignment to kill some minor Hollows. This was more than most of the officers could handle, Rukia thought. It wouldn't be challenging for her, but she didn't want to push herself hard.

Rukia remembered what the Elders had once told her in private – the difficulties her sister had getting pregnant and then when she had finally conceived… the trials to not abort the baby prematurely. Hisana had failed three times to carry the baby to term. The first two had been aborted before they could have possibly lived. The last one, a son, had been stillborn.

Rukia pressed a comforting hand against her stomach. "I will protect you," she said. "No matter what, I will keep you safe."

"And it gets even better, a tasty little shinigami!" exclaimed the menacing voice of a powerful Hollow. "And so powerful…"

Rukia whirled around, caught completely unaware which was totally unlike her. Her eyes widened when she saw the Hollow and the orange-haired boy that was running from him. How was it possible that a human could see a Hollow?

She was even more stunned when he looked directly at her and said, "Get out of the way! It's dangerous here!"

A part of her was annoyed at his presumption, but how did he know what powers she had? She was a shinigami, the 3rd seat of Squad 13, and he was a mere human boy – with strong latent reiatsu. He stopped when he reached her and tried to grab her, but she was already moving away toward the Grand Fisher with light, quick steps that were impossible for a human.

"Are you a ghost?" he asked, following her.

"Get out of here," she said, waving him off. "I can handle myself."

She would need her full concentration if she did not want to release Sode no Shirayuki. It was what she preferred to do as a shikai release took a lot of reiatsu to maintain and she didn't want to do anything that might harm her baby. While this Hollow might not be a _Menos Grande_, it was not a Hollow to take lightly.

Rukia recognized him, the shinigami called him Grand Fisher. He had eluded them for 54 years and he was even more bigger and more striking in appearance than the rumors she had heard. He was brown with a huge oval mask on his face with fur that covered his body and his hands and feets were bird-like.

"You don't understand," the boy said in frustration, "he's already eaten other ghosts!"

Rukia was impatient, but she understood his underlying good intentions – most other mortals would have fled the scene immediately, not caring to stick around to make sure she got away safely.

"I'll be okay," she said, withdrawing her zanpakuto. "I'm here to protect you."

"What—" he began, but she didn't give him time to say anything more.

She leapt over to the Hollow, prepared to strike it with her zanpakuto, but the Grand Fisher easily moved out of harm's way. Rukia landed lightly on her feet, aware now that the the Hollow was capable of moving quite quickly when it wanted to. She would need to rely on shunpo if she wanted to outmaneuver it. She quickly flashstepped to the Grand Fisher, managing to swipe a sidelong cut on its side before it got out of her way.

Rukia pursued the Grand Fisher, noticing that it was moving closer to the boy, and she tried to divert its route but to no avail. She would just have to finish this quickly. She soared up into the sky and brandished her zanpakuto over her head in a wide arc when she noticed the angler drop out of the Hollow's mouth. She had heard of this. She tensed immediately.

The angler was a decoy that would resemble someone that the victim knew well and it would allow the Grand Fisher to get close and to seize its prey without much of a struggle at all. But she knew she hadn't been injured and there was no way the Grand Fisher could have stolen her memories… however, Rukia glanced over at the boy, seeing his wound on his arm and noticing how his eyes were filling with tears.

"Okaa-san," he said, "is that really you?"

Sure enough the angler began to resemble a beautiful woman with hair as orange as her son's. "Yes, it's me, Ichigo," his mother said. "I need your help."

Rukia pushed forward with her zanpakuto, closing in on the Grand Fisher. If she just injured it enough, maybe she could break its hold over the boy and once she did that, she would move in for the final attack that would erase its existence forever.

Then – the boy – Ichigo was suddenly standing in front of her and her target and Rukia only managed to avert her zanpakuto at the last minute from running it through him by forcing herself off balance. She found herself falling, landing hard on the pavement. She broke out into a nervous sweat as she placed her hand on her stomach. It was okay, it was a hard fall, but it should be okay.

Rukia quickly got to her feet and avoided a blow from the Grand Fisher. Why had Ichigo stopped her?

"Why are you trying to hurt my mother?" he asked her. "She's done nothing to you!"

"That isn't your mother!" Rukia shouted, avoiding the Grand Fisher's attempt to attack her by darting out of the way.

She had to get Ichigo to follow her, to pursue her, so she could get out him of the Grand Fisher's grasp. Rukia didn't doubt that the Hollow would use the boy against her and when he was done, he would kill him and absorb his reiatsu.

"You need to help me kill the girl," his mother said.

The boy looked torn, looking at the angler – resembling his mother close enough to be her twin – then glancing at her before returning his gaze to his mother. "Okaa-san," he said, "why do you want me to hurt her? It's not like you."

"Because she'll hurt us both if we don't."

Rukia didn't know what to say, it was obvious the boy was struggling – wanting to listen to his mother and knowing that something was off about her. She could only imagine how hard it would be. What if that was Byakuya?

"You must do this for me," the angler said. "You must kill her for me."

Rukia saw the clarity in the boy's eyes when he turned to her. He closed his eyes and a tear rolled down his face. "My mother is dead," he stated. "You are not my mother. She would never want me to hurt anyone."

"Stupid boy," the angler said furiously, twisting the lovely face it had into one of ugliness. "You will die!"

The angler, still in the shape of a woman, launched herself at Ichigo, trying to strangle him with her hands. And of course, the boy did nothing to protect himself, letting this false version of his mother have her way with him. Rukia sighed and glanced briefly down at her zanpakuto before her eyes focused back on the matter at hand.

"_Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" _

* * *

**A/N: ** I decided to combine a lot of chapters/episodes together b/c it's pretty obvious I won't be writing the current Bleach story as we know it the same because that would be boring. I am undecided at this point what I will be doing with the dynamics of Ichigo/Rukia and et cetera. If you have any opinions, please let me know. I was pretty much done with this chapter, but unsure if I was going to scrape it and start over or not. I think, in general, this satisifed me.

Thank you for reviewing. You guys have been great and it definitely helps my muse!

**P.S.** I have read some of the reviews already and most of them do not seem to trust my judgment as an author. You all seem to think I'm going somewhere where I am not, which I don't understand at all. _I already said I would be changing the storyline in the above A/N, there are a lot of things that will not remain the same. _I would think after 37 chapters, you would trust that I know how to weave a story and make it work. Also, my "uncertainty" had nothing to do with not doing Ichigo in the story. It was planned from BEFORE I started it, I was just unsure about their interaction, if it made "sense" how they responded to each other and if it was "realistic" for having never met. I'm pretty upset right now and I probably won't be working on this until I am in the right mood again.

And lastly, you don't need to "worry" about a love triangle, if there is anything it will be from Ichigo's side (as it was with Renji as well) because I don't like prolong love triangles and indeed, I rarely ever write them unless I have a good reason. If I didn't put Renji/Byakuya/Rukia into a love triangle (I simply dealt with his love for Rukia, which you can easily see in Bleach), why do you think I would put Ichigo into one? Anyway, I hope you will stop seeing something that isn't there in this chapter and think about what is there: _Rukia being the hero and saving Ichigo, a human with strong latent reiatsu on her final mission as a shinigami._

Released: 4/3/2009


	39. Mission Complete

Note: Reviews make me smile ^_^!

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**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Thirty-eight**  
_Mission Complete_

Just as Rukia thought, with the release of her zanpakuto into shikai form, the Grand Fisher abruptly turned his attention to her and he flung his arms at her, trying to hit her – to steal her memories. She dodged both of his arms easily, mentally thanking Byakuya for teaching her shunpo without it she would not have been able to evade the Hollow. Rukia flashed to and fro, keeping the Grand Fisher too busy trying to keep up with her to think about the boy and she had successfully drawn him away, far enough that it was safe to use one of her dances.

Now if only she could get the Grand Fisher a little closer, so she slowed down a little, just a little. She sliced the air behind her, where the Grand Fisher was, and said softly, "Some no mai, Tsukishiro."

Behind her, the air grew cold – frigid – and a burst of ice shot up into the sky, engulfing the Grand Fisher in a frozen prison. Rukia sighed and was about to resheath her zanpakuto when something encircled her neck, it was soft and flexible and she instinctively grabbed it, but it only tightened – suffocating her. Rukia brought up her zanpakuto, about to cut what must be the last remnant of the Hollow, its angler, but her vision was blurring and she was about to black out when suddenly she was breathing again.

"Are you all right?" the boy – Ichigo – asked, crouching next to her.

"What? How?" she asked.

Ichigo held up a pocket knife. "So are you… all right?"

Rukia nodded. "Yeah."

He reached over to help her sit up and she was grateful for his help. "Who are you? What was that thing? How did you do that? What—"

"One question at a time," she said, still breathing heavily.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Rukia," she answered. "I am a shinigami."

"A shinigami?"

She nodded. "We fight Hollows, sending them back to be reborn, hopefully as better than what they became."

"What do you mean?"

"They," she began, "the Hollows, they were once human and when they died, they became ghosts and over the years, their bitterness and negative emotions turned them into what you saw – former shell of what they were – a Hollow. We, as shinigami, we send the Hollows back so they can begin again and we also send ghosts back as well, the ghosts that linger when they should already be in the Soul Society."

"What is the Soul Society?" he asked.

"A place for souls to live," Rukia answered, "and to wait to be reborn into this world, eventually."

"Shinigami," Ichigo murmured.

"Yes," she said and tilted her head, intrigued by this human boy who had such strong latent reiatsu. He could see her, which meant he was not ordinary and the fact she could sense his power… He would someday be a shinigami, perhaps once he had finally passed into the Soul Society. "I have a question for you."

"What is it? Go on."

"How long have you been able to see them?"

"The Hollows?"

"Yes," Rukia said.

"I don't know. I have only seen them recently, but I have been able to see ghosts since I was a child. I don't remember a time when I couldn't see ghosts."

"Interesting," she remarked.

He shrugged. "Inconvenient if you ask me."

"Your name, it's Ichigo, isn't it?"

He nodded. "How did you know?"

"The Hollow, the part that resembled your mother," she said, "that's what she called you."

"Kurosaki Ichigo," he said, holding out his hand.

"Kuchiki Rukia," she said, taking it. "I will be here for a while. There has been an abnormal amount of Hollow activity in Karakura Town recently and I have assigned here to reduce the threat. Please be careful and be safe."

"You too," Ichigo said softly.

Rukia smiled at him and waved her hand in good-bye before she disappeared via shunpo in the direction where she felt the presence of another Hollow. It had much less reiatsu and was rather insignificant compared to the Grand Fisher, but not to be taken lightly. She had used a great deal of her reiatsu already by summoning Sode no Shirayuki into his shikai form.

She quickly darted over to the Hollow, flashing before it and not giving it even a moment to react before she brought her zanpakuto downwards, sending it back to the abyss. Rukia sighed as she crouched down, close to the ground, exhausted. She reached into her pocket for her Hollow monitoring device and she shook her head. There were at least five more Hollows within her vicinity. Luckily, they did not seem to be emitting much reiatsu. Rukia straightened up and dashed off to the next target, _not using shunpo_ to save herself some energy.

-

It wasn't exactly easy to sense a person's reiatsu, especially when said person was in the human world, but Byakuya had his means within the Kuchiki clan. He did not like the idea of Rukia leaving the Soul Society, regardless of if it was mostly a simple mission of destroying small-fry Hollows. Byakuya clenched his fist when he felt Rukia's reiatsu flare up in the way that only meant she had released her zanpakuto.

Why? The mission was supposed to be easy, simple, nothing for a shinigami of her caliber. So why did she need her shikai release?

Byakuya couldn't concentrate on his work, instead he ended up shuffling back and forth across his office, worrying about her until he felt her resheath her zanpakuto. He didn't sense she was injured or anything, but he would not feel any relief until she was safely back into the Soul Society… when her misison was finished.

It wasn't a long mission, by any means, clear up some of the congestion of Hollows in Karakura Town. It should only take a seated officer like Rukia a night or two to complete it, but that was a little too long for him to be separated from her – not when they had rarely been separated in the last nine decades.

Byakuya sighed and sat down at his desk, determined to focus on his paperwork and to trust in Rukia and her abilities.

She would be okay, how could she not? She might only be a 3rd seat, but she was good enough to be a fukutaichou and moreover, she was close to achieving her bankai. In time, if the Elders were willing to be lenient, in time she would make Taichou. In time…

* * *

**A/N: ** Exactly what I'm going to do is not for certain at this point. I just wanted to inform you that I have exams coming up in about two weeks and I will be busy studying. I will probably be writing sporadically, so please forgive me. I may write a oneshot/short novella in a slightly different setting for Byakuya/Rukia as I think more about where exactly I want _When the Snow Falls..._ to go. I have plans for it, but I'm uncertain how I want to incorporate the non-shinigami characters. I may leave a lot of them out (mainly b/c they aren't my favorite characters). Thank you for all your support and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Released: 4/6/2009


	40. The Compromise

**Note:** I have reached two milestones! On 102 favorite lists and 100 story alerts. Thank you so much for supporting this story!

* * *

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Thirty-nine**  
_The Compromise_

"He said you would be accomodating, will you?" Takahiro inquired, staring intently into Ukitake's solemn eyes.

The Taichou of Squad 13 was sickly and Takahiro could see that Ukitake was not well, his face was pale and his breathing was shallow. Takahiro was a little uncertain now. It was clear that Ukitake could not fulfill his entire duty as Taichou. Rumor had it that his fukutaichou, Shiba Kaien held the daily responsibities of Squad 13. If that were so and given what Byakuya-sama had told him about Rukia-sama's duties as de facto teacher to the incoming shinigami… it was likely she was like a fukutaichou within Squad 13.

Could she handle the responsibilities that would go with her role as the wife of the Head of the Kuchiki clan along with her duties as 3rd seat of Squad 13?

It would be difficult and Byakuya-sama certainly held his two posts well, as did Ginrei-sama before him, but they were men and did not have a woman's fragility. Rukia-sama was surprisingly healthy compared to her sister, but that did not mean that her health would continue after the hardship of child-bearing. But the converse was true as well. Rukia-sama could very well handle doing both and he had grown fond of the her in the intervening years. She was worthy of being Lady Kuchiki.

It had taken him years to realize that, but better late than never, Takahiro thought. It was all surprising, after all. She came from Rukongai – it was only natural to oppose her joining the family – as it had been before with her sister, but Rukia-sama had proven different than Hisana-sama and if she was the mother of the Kuchiki Clan's future… all would be well.

But how to keep her content and the future safe?

"I have heard rumors," Ukitake remarked, "that Rukia will likely be retiring after this mission."

"You must understand, she is _Lady Kuchiki_ and our clan needs an heir," Takahiro stated. "That supercedes all matters, even though she is the 3rd seat of Squad 13."

Ukitake inclined his head. "What is the discussion then?"

"It is possible for her to resume her shinigami duties after a few years of leave if she were to only partake in a role that would keep her undeniably safe from harm," Takahiro responded. "You must understand the importance of a child's mother."

"I do."

"Then will you agree to this, if I manage to persuade the other Elders to agree to this proposition?"

"Agree to restrict her role as 3rd seat to duties even a green shinigami could handle?" Ukitake murmured. "That will be hard, but I am sure I can work my way around it. Rukia will understand how many depend on her."

"Thank you, Ukitake-taichou," Takahiro said, bowing deeply in respect.

"No," Ukitake said, motioning for Takahiro to rise, "_thank you_."

-

It was lonely going to sleep without Rukia by his side, Byakuya thought as he stared up at the ceiling. It was also hard to sleep without her warmth and her soft breathing to lull him into unconsciousness. Byakuya sighed and rolled over onto his side, imagining that Rukia was next to him, her back against his.

It was no use… he wasn't going to be able to sleep again tonight.

Byakuya rose from the bed and picked up Senbonzakura. As soon as the familiar weight of his zanpakuto was in his hand, he felt more calm and less worried about Rukia. As he and she were connected, Senbonzakura was linked to Sode no Shirayuki. When had it happened?

The first time they had made love… the night of their wedding.

"_They are fine," _Senbonzakura spoke to him, a little mischief in the lilt of her voice.

Byakuya narrowed his eyes. "You're up to something."

"_Not me." _

"What is Rukia doing?" he asked suspiciously.

"_Finishing her mission." _

"When will she be done?"

Senbonzakura paused, thinking – probably feeling the connection she had to Sode no Shirayuki. _"Tomorrow perhaps, or mayhap the day after." _

Byakuya grumbled and Sebonzakura was lightly chuckling, much to his annoyance.

"_There were more Hollows than expected, but don't worry they are handling it well. He is taking care of her and he is miffed you would doubt him." _

"Tell them to hurry," he said exasperatedly, then bit his bottom lip. "Tell her… I miss her."

Sebonzakura smiled. _"The latter I will certainly pass on. The former, I think we'll keep to ourselves. You know how _he_ is."_

Byakuya didn't exactly know how Sode no Shirayuki was, but from what he gleaned from Sebonzakura and a little from Rukia – _he_ was prickly and aloof, not someone to mess with and deeply attached to Rukia – as all zanpakuto were to their partners.

"Shall we practice?" Byakuya asked. "To pass the time?"

"_Yes," _she said, _"let's."_

They said nothing further between themselves, instead letting their combined powers flow through the air with a dazzling display of raw strength and beauty from the innocent, yet deadly cherry blossoms. Byakuya's heart ached from Rukia and he pushed himself to his limit and he was certain that Sebonzakura also missed Sode no Shirayuki – as much as she would comment he never discussed his feelings to her – because she was putting on an impressive spectacle that was truly exhausting.

When they were done, when they were spent, Byakuya sat down on the ground, leaning against a tree, Sebonzakura cradled on his lap and his hand caressing her hilt, and he closed his eyes and dreamt those beautiful dreams of Rukia with his baby in her arms, smiling up at him with her radiant smile.

* * *

**A/N: **What do you think about the idea of Sode no Shirayuki & Sebonzakura?I have exams for the next three weeks, starting on Monday, it is highly unlikely I will release anything for the duration of my exams and finals. Please be patient! And please, please keep reviewing! It was mildly disappointing to barely get 10 reviews after having received 15+ consistently for the last 7 chapters, and 20+ for the last 3 chapters. The reviews are what have made this story as successful as it is.

Also, I have published a science fantasy e-book called "The Glasshouse," if you would like to support my writing endeavors, please check it out. It's only 3 USD!

Released: 4/18/2009


	41. Of Human Diversions

Note: Please review if you'd like me to keep going.

* * *

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Chapter Forty**  
_Of Human Diversions_

"I should have never agreed to show you around town," Ichigo muttered to himself as he watched Rukia squeal as she found another thing that captivated her attention.

Who would have thought a juice box would hold so much fascination? Or that a little toy store that sold a lot of stuffed bunnies would be so fabulous? Then again he knew nothing about the shinigami world and she hadn't exactly dressed like a modern Japanese girl when he had first seen her; although she certainly looked the part now in her dress. But she still knew very little about present-day Japan.

She didn't even know what _slang_ was. _Slang!_

"Are you ever going to explain why everyone can suddenly see you?" Ichigo asked softly enough that the other people couldn't hear them.

Rukia swiftly turned around and glared at him, making shushing gestures with her hands. "I told you I'd tell you later."

"Yeah, true," he responded, "but every time you are about to tell me, you suddenly disappear on me."

"I can't help it if my Hollow alert goes off," she whispered fiercely. "Stop being petty."

"I'm not sure you used that word correctly."

Rukia rolled her eyes very deliberately at him. "I know what petty means and moreover, it's not _slang_, whatever you call those words you use that don't mean what they should mean."

In the weeks Ichigo had known Rukia, it was like she had become somewhat of a different person. She seemed much more relax, acting far younger now than she had when she had first come. There was still something about her that he couldn't pinpoint though, something intangible about her that made people show her respect. He didn't know what because she wasn't all that polite and nice to him.

"Well, then tell me now so you can keep your promise like a good little shinigami," Ichigo retorted. "I mean, you shinigami have honor, don't you?"

Rukia's face went carefully blank and Ichigo couldn't see any hint of emotion on her face. She was wearing her mask again, something Ichigo had seen far more earlier when he didn't really know her. He didn't like seeing her be careful around him. He'd much rather her being spirited and stubborn around him. It suited her better in his opinion.

Whatever brought the mask out, Ichigo decided he didn't like at all.

"I have a gigai," Rukia said softly. "It is a body that my spirit self goes into and it is something tangible that you humans can see. Of course, you having reiatsu means you can see me even in spirit form. I believe…"

"You believe?"

"I believe when you leave this world and enter the shinigami world, you will become what I am… a shinigami. You are very strong for a human. It is extremely rare for a human to see a shinigami."

Ichigo stared into her violet eyes, thinking of how lovely the color of them were. He had never seen eyes like hers before. Was it because she was a shinigami or was it just a part of her?

"Do you know when people die?" he asked.

Rukia shook her head.

"Do you… do you remember you life before?"

"No," she said. "I was young when I passed on and I came to the shinigami world as a mere baby."

Ichigo tilted his head and wondered. "Does that mean if I am old when I die I will be reborn as an old person?"

"The people in the spirit world are neither old nor young, they are the age they should be and if they are not they soon become that age and from there they live a very, very long life before passing to the next stage."

"And what would that be?"

Rukia shrugged. "I have no idea. Maybe one day I will know."

"Hmm."

Ichigo grabbed Rukia's hand and started dragging her with him as he navigated their way through the crowd. He didn't really know why he wanted to hold her hand. It wasn't like he liked her or anything, at least not like that. He just felt like they understood each other, even though they had hardly known each other for long.

"Hey!" Rukia exclaimed. "Where are you taking me?"

"Some place," Ichigo said, looking back at her. "Do you trust me?"

"I'm not sure," Rukia said seriously, although there was a sparkle in her eyes.

"You should," Ichigo responded. "I'm taking you some place you will definitely."

"What if I don't?"

"Then shame on me."

-

It had felt a little odd at first to wear a gigai. But there were certain virtues about it – mainly keeping her from endless boredom as she stayed in the human world to send the Hollows back to whence they came. It seemed like there were more and more coming each day, so many that she couldn't even spare the time to take a small break to go back to the spirit world to see Byakuya.

Rukia placed her hand on her abdomen, imaging the bump that still wasn't there. She ached for her husband, for him to hold her in his arms and for him to kiss her gently on the lips and tell her about his day. It wasn't the same, reading letters from him, or even sending him letters about her day.

There was something intangible she couldn't quite describe in words about being near the one you loved—

It was then that her Hollow alert went off and Rukia quickly popped the candy in her mouth that would remove her from her gigai and put her back into her spirit self. It felt right to be back in her own body. Rukia grasped the hilt of her zanpakuto, feeling Sode no Shirayuki's power, thinking that soon this mission would be over and she would go back home to Byakuya.

It wouldn't be soon enough…

* * *

**A/N: ** I am sorry that it took so long to update, but if you would let me know what you think and if the story is becoming too boring or if it is still interesting – let me know. I know a lot of people just wanted to see Rukia and Byakuya get together and maybe this _after story_ involving their relationship beyond the "getting together" part might seem dull and tedious and that I should have ended it before. Anyway, let me know if I should continue or not!

Released: 7/4/2009


	42. Epilogue

Note: The final chapter! Please, if you'd be so kind, let me know what you thought!

My other Rukia/Byakuya stories are _**Spring Rain Washed Over the Sun**_ (serial), _**Another Long Day**_ (oneshot), and _**A Thousand Falling Petals **_(oneshot). _Spring Rain Washed Over the Sun is like a serial followup to Another Long Day!_

* * *

**WHEN THE SNOW FALLS  
**by Yih

**Epilogue**

_A few days later…_

Byakuya was waiting when the senkaimon opened and there was Rukia, looking exactly as he had seen her off… in her shinigami robes, petite and so pretty, and not a scratch on her person. Even though he trusted in her skill as a shinigami, he wanted to be at her side, guarding her from all possible danger. These solo missions, they were rough on him and he tried not to let it show how much it fazed him, not when he knew it would bother her.

"Byakuya!" Rukia cried as she ran to him, looking far more like the young girl he had first seen in the Shinigami Academy than the wife of Kuchiki-sama. She cradled his face in her hands, staring into his eyes with her bright violet ones. "You've been worried, haven't you?"

She always could read him so well, he mused as he slowly conceded with a nod of his head. "Even knowing you are perfectly capable," he said softly, reaching with his hand to caress her silky hair. "I have missed you."

"As I have missed you," she answered, leaning into his touch.

Byakuya was slightly surprised when she took his hand and pressed it into her abdomen. While they were not an aloof couple, they certainly weren't overly affectionate in public either. It did not befit their status as Lord and Lady of the Kuchiki clan. There was something different about her; something that he couldn't put his finger on.

"Rukia?"

"Byakuya," she murmured, looking up at him, "you're going to be a father."

Shock was probably an understatement. Byakuya was astonished, his mouth was gaping, and he was unbelievably happy. His wife was pregnant and they were going to have a child together! He secretively hoped it would be a little girl that looked exactly like Rukia, although he knew the Elders would want a boy. An heir.

Not that it mattered, he thought, smiling down at his wife, they would have more children in the future to fill up on the house with joy and laughter…

"You look happy," Rukia said, looking up at him with her shining eyes.

"I wonder why."

She stretched up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. "I love you."

Byakuya wrapped his arms around her still slender form. "I love you too."

-

_A couple weeks later…_

"Come in, Rukia-san," Ukitake said, beckoning to her from where she stood at the entrance of his office.

"Sorry for disturbing you, Ukitake-taichou," Rukia said as she bowed in greeting.

"I was just finished working, so you're not bothering me at all."

Rukia sank gracefully onto the cushion that was positioned in front of Ukitake's desk. "Still I must thank you for taking the time to see me."

Ukitake nodded in acknowledgement. "What is it that you wished to speak of?"

"I am expecting," she said softly, blushing.

"Ah," Ukitake murmured. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you."

"I take it you would like to request a leave of absence?" Ukitake inquired directly.

Rukia shook her head and withdrew a white envelope that she had tucked within in shinigami robes. "I am submitting my resignation." She paused in hesitation. "I have truly enjoyed working with you in Squad 13 and proud to have called you my Taichou, but it is time I take more responsibility as Lady Kuchiki."

"This is true," Ukitake remarked, "but Takahiro-dono and I have spoken."

Rukia's eyes widened with surprise as she had no idea that the Head Elder and Ukitake were even acquainted. She opened her mouth to say something, but shut it instead because she didn't really know what to say.

"You do have to uphold the duties of the Kuchiki clan, especially as you are Lady Kuchiki," Ukitake stated, "and yet you are also an invaluable member of Squad 13 and it would be a real pity to lose you."

"I don't understand…"

"I have also spoken with Byakuya," Ukitake continued, gently pushing her hand that held the envelope away from him, "and we have agreed that you have been able to uphold your responsibilities as both 3rd seat and as Lady Kuchiki for 95 years and there is no reason that you cannot do it as mother, but—"

"But?" Rukia asked.

"But Byakuya would decide when you are ready to return after your leave of absence. He personally will make sure you are strong enough to come back as Squad 13's fukutaichou."

Rukia was stunned, her bright violets wide open with her astonishment. It had been more than 95 years since Kaien-dono had died with his wife, Miyako. Rukia had always assumed that no one would fill Kaien's spot even as she assumed Miyako's…

"You were his protégé," Ukitake said. "I think Kaien would be very proud to have you replace him as fukutaichou."

"Do you think so?"

Ukitake smiled and placed a reassuring hand on Rukia's shoulder. "Why wouldn't he be?"

"Thank you, Ukitake-taichou."

"_No_, thank you," he said firmly. "Now please burn that resignation letter as I will not accept it now or in the future and please enjoy your brief respite from Squad 13. We will miss you and welcome you back readily when it is time for you to return."

-

_Several months later…_

Rukia was feeling very bloated carrying her baby and not at all beautiful like Byakuya would whisper into her ear at night. Rukia glanced at the clock, wondering when Byakuya would arrive home from his duties as Taichou of Squad 6. He should be home at any moment. He had started coming home early in the evenings because she often got weary after sundown and they couldn't spend as much time together as they usually did.

Rukia sighed and placed a hand on her large stomach, stroking gently as she felt the baby kicking again. "I hope you look just like your father," she murmured.

"I would rather she take after you," Byakuya said, suddenly appearing in front of Rukia and bending over to kiss her forehead. "I would especially like her to have your beautiful eyes."

"Who says it's a girl?" Rukia retorted with a warm smile as Byakuya sat at her feet, massaging her swollen feet.

"I hope it's a girl that's exactly like her mother."

Rukia's eyes were shining as she gazed down at her husband. "And I hope it's a boy that takes after his father."

Byakuya smiled up at her, looking still so young and handsome it was hard to believe that he was decades older than her. Rukia was never as happy as she was now, but she knew there was more happiness to come and that when she experienced it she would think _this is the happiest moment! _

And as she stared into Byakuya's eyes she thought, _this is what it's like to be in love! _

-

_Many years later…_

"Tou-san!" Yuuna exclaimed as she saw Byakuya shunpo into view.

Rukia smiled as she watched her daughter run off to greet her father. Her attention was diverted though when her son, Yuuto, tugged on her sleeve. "Kaa-san?"

Yuuto looked so much like his father, both her children took after Byakuya, except for the fact that the twins had her violet eyes. Yuuto's gaze, however, reminded Rukia of Byakuya. There was a seriousness in his eyes, a solemnity that quite matched his father's. Rukia reached over and pulled Yuuto into her lap.

"What is it?" she asked.

Yuuto looked straight into her eyes. "I hear a voice," he said. "And I dream of water all around me, but I can breath. I'm not drowning…"

Rukia wrapped her arms around him. "Does the voice have a name?"

Yuuto shook his head. "I don't know. I think so."

Rukia bent her head, noticing out of the corner of her eyes that Byakuya had Yuuna in arms as he headed toward them.

"Let me tell you a secret," Rukia said softly into Yuuto's ear, "I hear a voice too, but my voice has a name and your voice will have a name as well. If you listen carefully, you'll hear the name, but you must be patient. Because once you learn the name, you will find that this voice is as much a part of you as your eyes, your ears, your nose."

"Really?" Yuuto asked.

"Really," Rukia said.

"What are you two talking about?" Byakuya inquired, holding Yuuna in his arms as he leaned over and kissed Rukia on the lips.

Rukia smiled down at Yuuto as he smiled up at her.

Yuuto looked up at his father and said, "It's a secret!"

**The End**

* * *

**A/N: ** Thanks for reading! Please review as it's your last chance! I'm awfully sorry that it's taken so long to get to this point and that I hope the final chapter makes up for the wait, as it's longer than typical chapters. I really did think I was going to go into the Soul Society Arc and try to make it my own, but I reconsidered it as the main point of the story was the relationship between Rukia and Byakuya – not the action and adventure within _Bleach_ per se. Anyhow, it's been a fun ride! I will be occasionally writing oneshots/short serials of Rukia/Byakuya and perhaps other pairings within Bleach. Whatever catches my fancy.

I already do have a oneshot out called **_"Another Long Day,"_** which is an AU where Rukia is Byakuya's fukutaichou, if you'd like to read and review that!

I don't have as much time to write anymore, as I've started my 3rd year of medical school and I'm working 60-80 hour weeks and barely have any time to write. I will try to find time, but it took more than a month to finish this short chapter! Thanks for all the support and I hope you get to read some other stories from me in the future!

Released: 10/17/2009


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